‘I’m Pretty When I Cry’: Female Suffering, Emotional Authenticity and the Digital Age — Polyester
In a recent Substack post, artist Molly Soda recounts her own crying content on the internet - now a decade old. There’s a marked difference between her near three minute video, sobbing to Death Cab For Cutie, mascara streaming down her cheeks, and the photo dumps we see today but, in spirit, they remain along the same vein. Soda, in an earlier internet and as an artist fascinated by the online sphere, is markedly more frantic, aw, but nonetheless, also concerned with notions of hotness. As Soda
The luminous rage of ZAND
I catch ZAND in the lead–up to a hotly anticipated afternoon slot on the Festival Republic stage at Reading and Leeds Festival. It’s as much of a rite of passage for relative newcomers as it is a chance to play alongside industry heavyweights, with the likes of Soft Play (previously Slaves) and Mothica sharing the bill. As they contemplate the upcoming performance, ZAND gives the impression of someone both overwhelmed and yet confidently self–assured: “I was like… do I deserve this slot? I don’t
Genre-bending glam rock bliss: Yves Tumor at Belgrave
There’s a sense of poorly concealed impatience buzzing across the packed out room as an empty stage begins to fill with smoke, animated conversations are now drowned out by a rumbling bass. We remain here, paralysed, for longer than many of us care for, the distorted intro going on uncomfortably long as the crowd get begin to shuffle restlessly in anticipation. This prolonged agitation should be infuriating, and it is for a moment, but it all begins to make sense as Yves Tumor strides onto the s
Pleasure, Prioritised: Self Esteem at StyluS
For someone who began her music career in relative anonymity, slotting neatly in as half of twee indie-folk band Slow Club back in 2006, in the last year Rotherham born Rebecca Lucy Taylor’s presence has become inescapable. With two critically acclaimed albums under her belt, she’s embarking on her biggest tour yet, each night proving herself to be a world away from the wallflower image once forced upon her. Waiting for her to appear on stage, a drum proclaiming ‘keep lyrics uncomfortable’ catch
Adult DVD - in review at Headrow House
Initially born out of a desire to escape lockdown monotony, Leeds based six piece Adult DVD only have a handful of live shows under their belt, including a recent slot at cult favourite London venue Old Blue Last. The group are long serving members of the local indie circuit, each involved in their own respective projects, so it felt only fitting that their first headline gig as a fully formed band took place in city centre favourite, Headrow House.
Though it was what initially felt like a more
Though it was what initially felt like a more
Such Bliss to Reminisce: Talking Sentimentality with Real Lies
Six years have passed since Real Lies released their debut album Real Life, and more still since they first signed the lease on the North London ‘lakehouse’: a strangely isolated five-bedroom property burrowed in the heart of the wetlands of Woodberry Down, where it all began. Home to house parties that sprawled beyond the confines of the weekend and hangovers that slumped through the remainder of the week, the house became host to a myriad of figures, all united through a basic primal desire to
