bands you should listen to this summer: London Calling round up
Eaves Wilder, mary in the junkyard, Being Dead, c.o.f.f.i.n, The Dare, Viji, and Psymon Spine should all be on your radar
It’s been almost exactly two years since my first ever stage manager job, at London Calling’s May edition in 2022. It was a real turning point for me, a moment when I considered that this job I got by accident soon after moving to Amsterdam could maybe be something more than just a convenient side job whilst I pootled along studying various corners of Eastern Europe. It turns out that getting pally with tour managers, enforcing a strict timetable, and leading up and coming bands to their first ever real dressing room was something that really made me happy. People seemed to like me too. It’s a festival characterised by British bands, and I really think a familiar accent is something that brings comfort to people who have been living in a van for weeks. Or maybe I just like telling myself that.
Two years later and I wrapped up my full time freelance career with the May 2024 edition of the festival. Here is the first tranche of the best bands who graced our stages last week who should be on your radar for summer 2024 - plus a playlist so you can get started. You can read about the history of London Calling here, and trust me - it’s statistically likely that some of these bands are going to make it big. Won’t you look cool when you say you knew about them way back in 2024?
Eaves Wilder - song pick: Won’t You Be Happy
Do you ever meet someone who is a little ray of sunshine inhabiting a human body? That’s Eaves Wilder, a singer-songwriter of dreamy fuzz pop, the sort of music that is best listened to in a lovely meadow in the summer sun. In 2023 she released her EP Hookey on Secretly Canadian, joining artists including The War on Drugs, Faye Webster, Major Lazer (yes, really), and the late Jason Molina who had their starts at the label.
Eaves’ cheerful nature and dreamy sounds contrast with the subject matter of her songs: heartbreak, shitty boyfriends, and the endless frustration of the UK’s mental health services. But I guess that’s really the only way to process these tribulations of youth; writing a song and screaming it at a packed room of people cheering you on is pretty cathartic. Though I would definitely not characterise Eaves as a “sadgirl” musician, her music speaks to the sadgirls in all of us (including me, a notoriously miserable git), and honestly? Eaves and the songs she’s giving us really makes me feel hopeful.
Press: DIY Mag, Under the Radar
mary in the junkyard - song pick: Tuesday
An experimental rock/pop trio hailing from London, mary in the junkyard have amassed quite the following after only a few releases of their haunting sounds that jump between whispered breathy vocals and heavy guitars. Their first EP, this old house - released two days ago! - will be hotly awaited by fans drawn to their hypnotic live performances. The band owe their popularity to their local music scene; they built a good relationship with legendary Brixton venue The Windmill, who gave them a stage to play on before they’d released anything. mary in the junkyard’s reputation as a superb live act drew fans in and their sound has been transposed effortlessly onto record - it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world catches up. In the face of places to hear live music under threat in the UK, learning how mary in the junkyard got their start has been a little beam of hope and a great story of symbiosis between artists and venues. Keep an eye out for these three, this is not the last we’ll be hearing of them here in the lowlands.
Press: 3voor12, Rolling Stone
Being Dead - song pick: Daydream
Now with a name like that, you’d probably expect a bunch of goths to rock up for some good old fashioned death metal and corpse paint, just like Dead and Euronymous would have wanted. Now imagine my surprise when three cheerful Texans playing Americana-tinged jangly adventure rock with Beach Boys harmonies arrive and say “Hi, we’re Being Dead!”. Fans of Celestestack know that I’m a sucker for any sort of cliched wild west imagery (Asteroid City, No Country for Old Men, Love Lies Bleeding, Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner). What I’ve found in Being Dead is those sort of lazy desert landscapes, canyons, cacti, and maybe even a coyote - but in audio form. I can imagine myself speeding down some deserted highway blasting this out of a crackly old stereo. I hope one day I get the chance. In the meantime, check out their debut album from last year, When Horses Would Run.
c.o.f.f.i.n - song pick: Fast Love
Australian pub thrash band c.o.f.f.i.n are hard to miss. Clambering over each other as they exited their van for the closing 1am set in the Upstairs, I knew we were in for a good time. c.o.f.f.i.n are a favourite of Aussie punk royalty Amy Taylor Amyl and it’s easy to see why: theses hard rockin’ long haired lads from down under put on one hell of a show, even when it’s past most poeple’s bedtime. Lead singer and drummer Ben Portnoy’s lets loose with his distinct rasping vocals while he attacks the kit like a human embodiment of Animal from the Muppets. It’s an interesting setup, and they join the hallowed and tiny group of bands where the drummer is also the lead singer; alongside Squid and Vulkano (a Swedish all-girl three piece who opened for Viagra Boys on their last tour), I can’t remember any other bands who do this.
With 5 albums under their belt, there’s plenty of co.f.f.i.n available for your listening pleasure, and certainly more to come in the future. If they’re coming to a town near you, you’d be crazy to miss it.
The Dare - song pick: Girls
I didn’t realise it at the time, but I grew up in the golden era of indie sleaze. Imagine my amazement when I looked at the release year for Girls and it was the year of our lord, 2023. Harrison Patrick Smith, under his guise The Dare, released his EP The Sex to mixed reviews, because unfortunately some music journalists have forgotten the joyfulness of the 2000s and that blend of indie-electro that artists like LCD Soundsystem, Calvin Harris, Klaxons, and Bloc Party brought to our eager ears (those last two artists are also LC alumni from way back when). If we can’t enjoy provocatively retro thumping basslines in the modern era then why even bother getting out of bed.
Viji - song pick: Sedative
You can’t miss London-based Viennese singer Viji, onstage in a pink figure skating dress and a singular white stocking. Pint sized but packing a punch onstage, her debut album So Vanilla was released last year on Speedy Wunderground, the label of producer Dan Carey who’s racked up 4 Mercury Prize nominations for his work with Kae Tempest, Black Midi, Fontaines D. C., and Nick Mulvey. Viji’s sound is a heady mix of grunge, shoegaze and emo with that bedroom pop sound aesthetic that allows her rawness to shine through. The album name comes from her real name - Vanilla - and she’s certainly proven herself to be anything but plain; let’s call it nominative nondeterminism. Her unique cocktail of sound, witty lyricism, and electrifying loud performances has guaranteed that Viji is someone we should have our eye on.
Psymon Spine - song pick: Jumprope
New York outfit Psymon Spine have something that so many rock bands lack - you can dance to them. They remind me of bands like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, MGMT, Franc Moody, Justice and other Ed Banger favourites - is it disco? Is it punk? It’s not surprise to learn that the members grew up in the golden age of noughties NYC electroclash. Their latest album, Head Body Connector, was written during the dreary loneliness of 2020, where the closest we could get to a live performance was blasting an album at home and closing our eyes and trying as hard as we can to imagine. Luckily for us, Psymon Spine channeled those feelings into making an album that celebrated that feeling of being together in a crowded room, dancing to disco punk while surrounded by sweaty strangers who just want to groove together. Catch them if they’re playing in a town near you, and enjoy that 00s sound in the flesh.
Press: Monster Children, Alternative Press
stay tuned for part 2!