Upset, October 2018 by Upset

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OCTOBER 2018 UPSETMAGAZINE.COM

Divide

+ conquer

Black Peaks

GOOD CHARLOTTE BRING ME THE HORIZON ALKALINE TRIO AGAINST THE CURRENT JOYCE MANOR

THE STORY SO FAR new album

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OCTOBER 2018 Issue 37

HELLO.

Once in a while, you’ll get a band who step up a level. They might have been brilliant before, they could have been bang average, but something will click that sends them shooting forwards at such velocity they break through their glass ceiling and send everything else scattering. It’s fair to say there was nothing average about Black Peaks on their debut album campaign - they were already lit up like an Xmas tree by that ‘saviour of modern rock music’ glow. And yet with their second full-length ‘All That Divides’, they’re unrecognisable. Every idea is developed, every sinew tensed and strengthened. Finally making it to their first Upset cover, anything feels possible. Prepare yourselves for something special.

S tephen

Editor / @stephenackroyd

Upset Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler Scribblers Alex Bradley, Dan Harrison, Dillon Eastoe, Jamie MacMillan, Linsey Teggert, Rob Mair, Steven Loftin Snappers Corinne Cumming, Frances Beach, Jamie MacMillan, Jennifer McCord, Ryan Johnston, Sarah Louise Bennett Cover photo: Jennifer McCord P U B L I S H E D F RO M

W E LCO M E TOT H E B U N K E R.CO M U N I T 10, 23 G RA N G E RO A D, H A S T I N G S, T N34 2R L

RIOT 6. READING & LEEDS 6. BRING ME THE HORIZON 8. FALL OUT BOY 10. WATERPARKS 12. MIKE SHINODA 14. PANIC! AT THE DISCO 16. MILK TEETH 17. SWMRS 18. JOYCE MANOR 22. LA DISPUTE 24. ALKALINE TRIO 26. FATHERSON 27. ABOUT TO BREAK TOUR 28. THE JOY FORMIDABLE 30. CURSIVE 32. AGAINST THE CURRENT

ABOUT TO BREAK 34. DEAR SEATTLE FEATURES 36. BLACK PEAKS 44. GOOD CHARLOTTE 48. DILLY DALLY 52. THE DIRTY NIL 54. ESTRONS REVIEWS 56. BLACK PEAKS 58. JOYCE MANOR 59. DOE 61. GOOD CHARLOTTE TEENAGE KICKS 62. BLACK HONEY

Plus special guests

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THIS MONTH IN ROCK...

JOYCE MANOR

“Produced by Converge’s Kurt Ballou” probably weren’t the words you expected, right? p.18

EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN ROCK

READING THE ESSENTIAL REVIEW

Everything that went down at 2018’s big festival blow out.

Words: Ali Shutler, Dillon Eastoe, Stephen Ackroyd, Steven Loftin. Photos: Corinne Cumming, Frances Beach, Jamie MacMillan, Ryan Johnston.

BRING ME THE HORIZON are back! Back!! Back!!!

ring Me The Horizon have thrashed and fought for this. Their journey has constantly been an uphill one and even when they seemed on top of the world with ‘That’s The Spirit’, they had their naysayers.

At Reading, they play their first live show in well over a year. Before they take to the stage though, there’s a deafening, excitable tent-wide scream that just seems to run and run. It’s a goosebumpinducing moment of celebration, a vocal burst of joy for a band who mean the world, despite constantly changing the rules of it. Opening with a song that’s only been out for a few days would be a bold move for many, but for Bring Me The Horizon, it makes perfect sense. 6 UPSETMAGAZINE.COM

‘Mantra’ is already golden, bringing together fun, fury and frenzy in a swirling burst of play and intent. This is meant to be the start of something new and BMTH have never been ones to mince their words. Bring Me are known for aggression. Even the polish of ‘That’s The Spirit’ came hand in hand with physicality on a huge scale. Today though, the first moment of command comes from Oli asking for hands in the air as the sway of ‘Can You Feel My Heart?’ drifts through the tent. It’s less about destruction, and more about connection. The chaos of ‘Happy Song’, the rampage of ‘Antivist’, the dance of ‘Follow You’, the known tear of ‘Sempiternal’ - every song is a moment to connect. ‘Drown’ was always

the moment Bring Me The Horizon looked up; now, as Oli charges to the front row to bridge the gap, it’s an act of tenderness. ‘Mantra’ might be the next step for Bring Me The Horizon but there’s more going on than just a sonic jump. The band are (still) on up but that bond with others is more important than ever. As fury and frustration turns into a need for belief, Bring Me The Horizon are assembling their cult. They’re raging for unity. P

ALKALINE TRIO

Alkaline Trio are back with brand new album ‘Is This Thing Cursed?’ p.24

THE JOY FORMIDABLE

After a difficult third album, The Joy Formidable are back from the brink. p.28

NEW SONG, NEW ALBUM, NEW TOUR - IT’S ALL GOING ON FOR BRING

ME THE HORIZON

The wait is over - Bring Me The Horizon have finally debuted a brand new track, ‘Mantra’, and details of their new album. The new music followed weeks of teasing, with enigmatic posters, a really quite disturbing phone line, and an invitation to start a cult. Standard stuff, really. Their new album, ‘amo’ is set to arrive on 11th January 2019. Produced by the band’s own Oli Sykes and Jordan Fish, it’s already one of the most anticipated records of next year. Oli says of the release: “‘amo’ is a love album that explores every aspect of that most powerful emotion. It deals with the good the bad and the ugly, and as a result we’ve created an album that’s more experimental, more varied, weird, and wonderful than anything we’ve done before.” Bring Me are set to blow out the cobwebs on a huge UK and European ‘First Love’ tour this November, including two nights at London’s Ally Pally. The details are: November 23 Birmingham Arena 24 Leeds First Direct Arena 25 Glasgow SSE Hydro 27 Cardiff Motorpoint Arena 29 London Alexandra Palace 30 London Alexandra Palace DISRUPT THE NOISE 7

READING READING Q+A

PETE WENTZ

talks Fall Out Boy, Lake Effect Kid and wanting to score more films The O2 show earlier this year, you did ‘Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down’ back to back with ‘Immortals’ - it felt like you didn’t mind how people had found you, you were just happy they were there. Yeah, we’re at the point where we have to blur that stuff. Your entry point... for me with Metallica, I got into Metallica on the Black album, but I think a lot of people will be like, I got into them when they were thrash. We don’t ever want to be the band that’s trying to appease absolutely everybody, but at the same time, we understand that God bless, we’re headlining a festival, a giant festival. I want to play a set where people are like, ‘Dude, you missed it! You weren’t there!’ I want to play that set.

Fall Out Boy have never been ‘the cool band’.

No, and I’m completely okay with that because I feel like you like the music that you like. When you’re young like a junior in high school, you like the music that you like, just because you like it. You go off to college or university, and at least for me, you listen to the music that you’re supposed to like. Then you go into the real world, and the real world is cool but it also kinda sucks, and you want the music that you liked because it’s like a warm blanket. I think we can represent that band for people.

You’ve just dropped you Lake Effect Kid EP, what was the thinking behind that? When we were writing ‘Young & Menace’ there was a b-side to that, which was ‘Super Fade’, and 8 UPSETMAGAZINE.COM

FALL OUT BOY belong at the top of Reading Festival we were like, I don’t know there’s not really a place for this song, it references Chicago. We had this old song that referenced Chicago that we’d never finished, we’d never figured out - why don’t we go back and figure that out? Then Patrick wrote this futuristic one which became ‘City in a Garden’, and we were like, why don’t we do this little pack together?

Last time you were in the UK you were starting ‘Young & Menace’, have you started playing around? Are you going to revisit stuff that didn’t make it on ‘M A N I A’?

We haven’t started. It’s rough when a band has been doing something for fifteen-twenty years because the inspiration can start feeling regurgitated, so I wanna do something a movie score or something that puts you completely out of your comfort zone. There’s nothing on the books yet, but something like that. Something that just by virtue of doing it you have to take a different perspective.

How aggressively are you going to pursue that? I feel like Fall Out Boy sits in a weird sweet spot that’s somewhere between Napoleon Dynamite and Drive, and like, those are two really weird movies. There’s no one who makes movies like that - apart from Wes Anderson, and he’s not knocking down our door to score a movie. It’s such a weird spot; it’s got to be the right thing. I know our kids, and our band are so weird, it’s gotta fit a really small area. P

all Out Boy have been here before. They’ve been here a whole bunch, actually. They’ve been pushing at the very top of Reading since before the hiatus. Last time they were here, they shared the spotlight with Biffy Clyro, and they came out swinging. Throwing everything at it (flames, fire artists, fireworks and the kitchen sink) it was a declaration of war. Tonight though, for the very first time, they’re outright headliners. It’s a moment years in the making, and from the off, the band are determined to have fun with it.

Opening with a no-frills ‘Thriller’, the band let their love letter to the believers do all the talking. It’s a beautiful moment, drenched in history and trembling with importance but still, Fall Out Boy are here to enjoy their evening. Pete Wentz power-slides down the sloped stage, sticking the landing but shooting Patrick a look telling him he’s never doing it again. That childlike sense of adventure, of anything goes, of chasing what feels right has been a Fall Out Boy staple since the off. MANIA’ has seen them embrace it. Tonight puts it up in lights. After ‘Thriller’, the band lean into the greatest of hits. They’ve soundtracked a generation, and every colour of their red, blue and purple rainbow is allowed to shine. ‘Phoenix’ rolls with multicoloured licks and a flame-thrower bass, ‘Irresistible’ sets off fireworks onstage and off while ‘Sugar, We’re Going Down’ (“the song that first brought us to Reading”) roars with excitable, energetic buzz. They dance between moments of excess (A cover of ‘Beat It’), sincerity (“Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy) and everything all at once (‘Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea’). Blowing up, surviving then redefining The Scene, Fall Out Boy have endured and innovated. Tonight, there’s a legacy playing out on the Reading Main Stage, but Fall Out Boy are too busy having fun to notice. “We’ve been here forever,” declares ‘Centuries’. They’ll be here for another forever if tonight is anything to go on. They might be the biggest band of the day, but to the crowd before them, there’s a sense of ownership. Of belonging. Of intimacy. It feels special, because it is. P DISRUPT THE NOISE 9

The

MILLION question... Words: Linsey Teggert.

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“Produced by Converge’s Kurt Ballou” probably weren’t the words you expected to accompany Joyce Manor’s new album, right?

DISRUPT THE NOISE 19

Divide It’s not all been plain sailing for Black Peaks, but with their second album ‘All That Divides’ they’re a band reborn, ready to drop one of the best British rock records of 2018. Words: Ali Shutler. Photos: Jennifer McCord.

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+ conquer

lack Peaks had it all figured out. After an initial stop as a three-piece instrumental band, Joe Gosney, Liam Kearley and Andrew Gosden teamed up with Will Gardner, changed their name from Shrine and set to work writing a debut album. Their aims were simple. They wanted to make music like their favourite bands. They wanted to hit the road like their favourite bands. If they dared to dream, it would be to one day share stages with their favourite bands. Black Peaks were still a secret when ‘Glass Built Castles’ arrived. Savage, sincere and sparkling, the track instantly caused a fuss. Interesting but accessible, it shoulders a darkness but makes

room for light. It felt exciting, dangerous, and fresh all at the same time. From that moment on, plans quickly fell apart, and the group felt their way forward. “Everything was a guess,” starts Joe. In the years that followed, Black Peaks didn’t stop. ‘Statues’ was released, a hulking, brooding fairytale of a debut record, and the band toured relentlessly. They played Wembley Arena with Deftones, toured Europe with System Of A Down and turned heads at festivals all over. It was everything they ever wanted. “But it left us in a weird place,” admits Joe. “Instead of winding down, it got more and more intense until it just finished. A couple of us went home ready to write. A couple of us went home

maybe not wanting to do the band anymore.” “It was to do with pressures, things going on at home and having not stopped properly for a very long time,” continues Will. “I was exhausted. There was so much going on; I couldn’t sleep. Mentally I was in a very bad way at the end of it. All of us weren’t in the strongest position financially, individually or mentally. “It was such a battle the last two or three weeks of that European tour. We were doing the most amazing things, supporting System of a Down and Mastodon, but some of those days I just couldn’t handle it. We had no idea how to; we’d never done it before. I was so tired and needed to spend time with my family.” DISRUPT THE NOISE 37

REGENE game

The

ERATION

Firmly back in the saddle, Good Charlotte are ready to take on the big issues with new album, ‘Generation RX’.

wo years on from their 2016 comeback album ‘Youth Authority’, Good Charlotte have returned with the powerful, emotionally raw ‘Generation RX’. With much of the album based on subjects as meaty as the Opioid crisis, the loss of musical icons and battles with ghosts from the past, it is a huge world away from the breezy pop-punks of old. Upset caught up with Benji and Joel Madden in LA to find out more. You came back from your hiatus a couple of years ago with ‘Youth Authority’, what are your thoughts on that record now? Benji: I love that record man, I

really love it. We went through a period where my brother told me on a few different occasions that he was never doing Good Charlotte ever again. He felt that it was our baby, that it had gotten us out of poverty and rough situations and it was time to take it back. It’s provided for our families, y’know? We came into the industry as little lambs… young, innocent, kind of green. We’d never even been on an aeroplane before our first record deal! Joel: When you are young, you don’t know that you have a choice. You don’t give yourself permission to be in control. And

Words: Jamie MacMillan. I sometimes think young people don’t give themselves the credit that their instincts are good, that they know more than they probably think. Benji: We didn’t have an education, no parents around us. We didn’t have anyone older around blocking for us or being a bodyguard for us. But when we came of age, we turned from little lambs into fucking wolves; we stood up for ourselves. We said everyone can fuck off; this is ours. It wasn’t about business any more. We took all the merch offline for five years, closed the website and took control back. Joel: I didn’t even know what it meant to be in Good Charlotte when we put ‘Youth...’ out. I don’t think we had any expectations; we just wanted to put the record out. It was kinda nice to ease back in, put it out and promote it. Touring it was limited to special shows, it all had almost a nice boutique feel to it. Because everything is now controlled by us, it’s re-defined the band for me.

‘Generation RX’ is a really honest, emotionally raw album. It almost feels like a whole new band. Was the songwriting a cathartic period? Benji: On this record, we just

tapped into that real pain, that real fucking emotion where all of our lives were shaped. Joel: We are hindered by this world being so cynical, a world

where sometimes people want to grab a piece of your personal life and present it as something it’s not. It forces you to put a persona out into the world to protect you from people getting to know who you are. You edit yourself to protect your family. When making the record, I had to remove that whole part of my life and create a safe space to just let it all come out. Benji: When we went into the studio, the reason I wanted to produce it was because I felt that the only way I would get what I felt we needed from Joel was the safety of a private studio. Just me and Joel in there. Being as real as shit. We are able to be vulnerable together. I don’t want to be dramatic and say I wouldn’t be alive today without Joel being there, but it’s probably true.

The music world has lost some true icons over recent years. Tracks like ‘Shadow Boxer’ are reminiscent of Linkin Park, was that a conscious decision? Joel: For me, yeah. Personally,

there’s been a lot of death and loss over the last couple of years. Some people everyone knows, and others are more personal. Chester [Bennington] passing away really affected me because you always wish you could have said something to someone, and you didn’t get the chance to. That really stays with you. Lately, I just say everything to everyone now, I’ve learned that you may DISRUPT THE NOISE 45

48 UPSETMAGAZINE.COM

After their debut, Dilly Dally were in a state of turmoil and nearly called it a day. Thankfully, they didn’t - and with their second album they’re taking us all the way to ‘Heaven’.

sent

Words: Ali Shutler.

DISRUPT THE NOISE 49

Rated_ THE OFFICIAL VERDICT ON EVERYTHING

** ALBUM OF THE MONTH **

B BLACK PEAKS

ALL THAT DIVIDES RISE RECORDS

e eeee TL;DR... BLACK PEAKS WERE ALREADY ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING BRITISH BANDS. NOW THEY’RE LEADING THE PACK.

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lack Peaks broke through with the help of radio play. Sure,

they said yes to every opportunity, pushed themselves to breaking point to spread ‘Statues’ as far as it dared to dream, and were backed by a brilliantly robust collection of screaming bangers, but the door breaking down came via the airwaves. And so, it verges on ridiculous that second album ‘All That Divides’ doesn’t have a single track that’s written with that instant glamour in mind. There’s only one song that’s over in less than four minutes, the thrashing, flailing roar of ‘Electric Fires’, and at no point do the band look at ‘Going Pop’,

a view that more and more bands are taking with every new release. Black Peaks have always done things their own way though. From the anxiety riddled opening of ‘Can’t Sleep’, the band’s second album takes the expected difficulty and toys with it. There are moments of shining, mass hysteria. Big choruses and bigger conviction, but there are also times when the band go fully off the deep end. Weird, wonderful and winding, ‘All That Divides manages to feel concise in loads of wonderous chaos. Excitement is king. The band take the loud/quiet dynamic that tumbled through ‘Statues’ and push it to each and every

THE DIRTY NIL MASTER VOLUME eeee

The Dirty Nil aren’t concerned with proclamations about where rock music sits in 2018. They’re not bothered about trends, shifts and cultural resonance. They know what they’re here to do, and it’s designed to be played loud. In a cloud of their own vicious toxic feedback, ‘That’s What Heaven Feels Like’ opens up big and goes in twice as hard, strutting tall on hundred mile high riffs. ‘Please, Please Me’ is a two and a little bit minute thrash of raw punk energy, while ‘Auf Wiedersehen’ and ‘Evil Side’ keep the pace as measured as they’re able. There’s no space for questions in The Dirty Nil’s world - only glorious, unhinged noise. P

Stephen Ackroyd

PALE WAVES

MY MIND MAKES NOISES eeee

edge. They fill in the blanks with new textures, new colours and reckless adventure. This isn’t an album of extremes. This is an album that does it all, while still feeling dashing and dangerously close to the edge. The band can swing with such heavy hits because there’s a comfort in who they are. They’re never trying to be anything else. Rather than the escape that ‘Statues’ so relentlessly offered, ‘All That Divides’ is a record that deals in the horrid everyday. Angry at the state of things, moved by the lack of empathy and feeling alone surrounded by selfishness, Black Peaks bellow unity from the rooftops. It’s not a political record, but it does dish

out the blame. There are songs inspired by the refugee crisis, government indecision and the general, terrible state of things. They’ve never been afraid to be heard but this time out, the band have found their voice and have reason to use it. Rather than dwelling in the mire though, Black Peaks want hope. They need it. After a tour cycle that almost ate the band alive, the power of caring for others is fresh in their minds. On All That Divides, it’s held up like a beacon. A call to arms entwined, it’s a record of struggle and resistance. It doesn’t have the answers, but it knows they’re out there. It wants to find them together. P Ali Shutler

They might look like a bunch of goths, but Pale Waves prove that great pop music can come from the shadows. From the shimmering brilliance of their breakthrough smash ‘There’s A Honey’ onwards, they’re a band that can carry the hefty buzz that’s been foisted upon them, and then some, ‘Red’ thumps with the immediacy of a jack-hammer, while ‘Noises’ is a self-aware, self-doubting anthem. It’s closing track ‘Karl (I Wonder What It’s Like To Die)’ that will have the real impact, though. A step away from everything that comes before it, it’s a track of such emotion and honesty that it’ll live in the mind long after the music comes to an end. P

Stephen Ackroyd

DISRUPT THE NOISE 57

WITH...

BLACK HONEY

Everyone has those formative bands and tracks that first got them into music and helped shape their very being. This month, IZZY from BLACK HONEY takes us through some the songs that meant the most to her during her teenage years.

NIRVANA - SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT

This song spoke to me as a teenager and has basically been the soundtrack to my entire life on the road. Nirvana is the thread that ties black honey together. This song just makes me wanna sing and fight and fuck in one big explosion.

T. REX - COSMIC DANCER

When I was depressed, I loved to dance around at railway stations drunk to this in a kinda Billy Elliot ballet way.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE KILLING IN THE NAME OF

I remember being so floored by the rawness of this one felt like it was existential.

PINK FLOYD - WISH YOU WERE HERE

My dad gave me his 12 string guitar, and this song is basically the textbook twelve string tune. The line “were just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl year after year” spoke to me even in my young teens.

MARILYN MANSON - TAINTED LOVE

I was so in love with this song cause it felt like such a reaction to all the boring RnB style songs that we’re exploring sexuality at the time. Once I realised it was a Soft Cell cover my mind was blown once more.

WHITE STRIPES - SEVEN NATION ARMY

Jack White is my favourite guitarist to this day. I have him to thank for introducing me to Robert Johnson and all the old delta blues musicians.

BLONDIE - CALL ME

I mean, what a classic. Blondie is probably the most important blueprint for the creation of Black Honey.P

Black Honey’s self-titled debut album is out 21st September.

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