Issue Forty-Seven is here, and with it we wave goodbye to 2023. On the cover are rising star, English Teacher – a band we’ve written about and spoken with since Spring 2021. As the band builds towards its inevitable ‘bigger project’ moment next year, and off the back of a sold out Scala in London, we caught them between their debut headline shows in the USA. We discuss old bands, Jools Holland and what a good debut album should do.

London’s Folly Group are edging closer to a long awaited debut album. ‘Down There!’ will be released in January 2024 and we gave the band a call to discuss making an album between jobs and distancing themselves from the post-punk pack. 

The name Bill Ryder-Jones has often featured within our pages with reference to the records he’s produced (Hotel Lux, The Rhythm Method), but he’s now back with a new record of his own. ‘Iechyd Da’ will land in January and we joined him at The Social in Soho for a chat that spans family, ripping himself off and the influence of Wu-Tang Clan.

London’s Tapir! have been firm favourites for some time, and with the recent backing of Heavenly Recordings, we can be excited at the prospect of a debut album in January. With the wonder of their lore and nuance in mind, and the red heads off, we dig into ‘The Pilgrim, Their God and the King of My Decrepit Mountain’ and what we can expect afterwards.

Our conversation with Atlanta’s Omni is a special one. As you’ll find within our interview inside, Folly Group and their beginnings owe a nod to the works of Omni. To celebrate this, we arranged for Folly Group’s Sean Harper to interview Omni’s Philip Frobos and what comes out, alongside a dive into the new Omni record, ‘Souvenir’, is mutual influence and mutual appreciation. 

Two new favourites are Lip Critic and Girl and Girl. The former are causing chaos in NYC and have recently signed to Partisan, whilst Brisbane’s Girl and Girl have just returned from a UK tour, and are taking some time to decompress the family friction inside the band. We chat to both inside. 

Finishing off our new band features are Flip Top Head. The Brighton band have more members than songs at this point and following lots of fun at our London club night, We Are So Young, we were keen to dig further into the inner workings of the band. 

Having just released his sophomore album, ‘Scream If You Don’t Exist’ we catch up with multidisciplinary artist Richie Culver to learn a bit more about his influences, inspirations and daily life. 

The ‘Women in Revolt!’ exhibition at the Tate Britain is open until 7 April 2024. The exhibition expands the story of British art, mapping a landscape of creative practice from previously underrepresented voices. We visit the exhibition and talk with the curator and contributors.

We catch up with Sophie Spratley, founder of fast rising fashion brand ‘rabbit’ who we’ve recently collaborated with on a limited edition t-shirt.