‘As I Was’ shows this is Harry Styles’ world and we are living in it

Elsie Oulton on 21 April 2022

A moment of silence for the ‘Fine Line’ era please. Harry Styles’ sophomore album, released just months before the pandemic, has flourished and thrived over the last two and a half years – sustaining us fans sufficiently, whilst garnering an even bigger audience for the star (a seemingly impossible feat). There were Grammys, feather boas, music videos of him… running?, along with many other glorious moments, however it’s time to bid farewell to this iconic album’s life, as Styles releases ‘As It Was’: the lead single from his upcoming album, ‘Harry’s House’.

At only 2 minutes 46 seconds, ‘As It Was’ is a shimmering ode to 80s pop, with wistful melancholic vocals dancing over a glistening synth. Styles contemplates, mourns and comes to terms with various forms of change, repeatedly declaring in the pre-chorus that ‘in this world, it’s just us, you know it’s not the same as it was’, through luscious vocal layering. Lyrically, it’s dark, and hyper-personal: the second verse alludes to a concerned phone call to Styles, asking ‘why are you sitting alone on the floor?’, and ‘what kind of pills are you on?’. 

The accompanying music video is unsurprisingly, wonderful: clad in a sparkly, red two-piece, Harry prances and leaps around The Barbican in London (as a fan on twitter neatly summed it up: ‘If The Joker was yassified’). Despite some aesthetic incoherence, it serves as an effective visualisation of the song, with the images and production aligning gloriously after the bridge, as church bells elevate the final chorus and Harry’s dancing intensifies in a satisfying conclusion to the track.

The song is a subtle introduction to the star’s third album; not the boldest lead single, in comparison to 2017’s ‘Sign of the Times’, (when he kick-started his solo career with a lengthy piano ballad), or 2019’s ‘Lights Up’. It could perhaps be more suited to being an album track, considering its length and minimalism, however, it does serve as an indication of what’s to come from ‘Harry’s House’ in May, giving us a taste of the nature of the record.

Having broken multiple streaming records on Spotify and Apple Music, it is set to be the singer’s second UK number one this week on The Official Charts. Styles will debut ‘As it was’ live at Coachella in the upcoming weeks, where he is headlining the festival, and will kick off the second leg of ‘Love on Tour’ in June in Glasgow, which includes two sold out nights at Wembley Stadium. Additionally, Styles has two films set to be released this autumn: Olivia Wilde’s ‘Don’t Worry Darling’, and Michael Grandage’s ‘My Policeman’. To put it simply: in 2022, it’s Harry’s world, and we’re just living in it.

Cover image: BBC

Dorian Electra brings high voltage hyperpop to Belgrave Music Hall

Alex Gibbon on 4 April 2022

Dorian Electra has brought the Queers out to play. The crowd is a multi-coloured sea of dyed hair, trans pride flags, and rainbow suspenders. Any sold-out show at Belgrave Music Hall is bound to conjure an atmosphere of excitement, but this rainbow brigade seems especially ready to get down and dirty.

Such a unique audience could only be drawn by an artist as innovative as Electra. The genderfluid popstar’s outlandish on-stage persona and intelligent caricature of masculinity has made them the doy-them of hyperpop performers. In a genre that thrives on collaboration, Electra has racked up an impressive roster of credits alongside 100 Gecs, Charli XCX, and even Lady Gaga. Their most recent album, 2020’s ‘My Agenda’, is a riotous collection of distorted and glitching pop bangers and masterfully blends Queer politics, meme culture, and experimental production. Electra’s range of influences is so broad and esoteric, it’s anyone guess what they will bring to the stage tonight.  

As the creepy and abrasive trills of show opener ‘F the World’ ring out, a silhouetted figure appears on stage. Through strobing neon lights, Electra can be seen in an ensemble best described as a sort of kinky Slenderthem: a long black PVC trenchcoat; devilishly pointed shoulder pads; taloned black gloves. Through both ‘M’lady’ and ‘Gentleman’, two technpop tracks that cleverly satirise the trope of the chivalrous man, the singer thrashes to the beat with flare. The constant oscillation of Electra’s shows between ridiculous camp and unnerving horror brings nothings but joy.

Launching into the middle third the set, Electra drives the show into pure pop overdrive. A speedy costume change sees them return as a scantily clad police chief flanked by two similarly bare-skinned dancers. The focus is now on Electra’s brighter first album ‘Flamboyant’ as the trio convulse in synchronisation to sticky melodic hooks and clattering synths. In fact, the outro of the album’s title track is where Electra’s vocals shine the brightest, drawing attention to how seldom their voice is gifted a spotlight amid the extravagance. Although, this does nothing to diminish their command of the stage. “Spell it out for Daddy”, Electra orders as the financially benevolent love interest during the tongue-in-cheek ‘Daddy Like’. The singing audience do as they are told.  

The tail end of the show sees Electra, now dressed as an anime-inspired army general, deliver their most aggressive material. With maximalist tracks such as ‘Ram It Down’, ‘Iron Fist’ and ‘My Agenda’, they juggle heavy metal, hardcore, dubstep and bubblegum bass to create the sound of sickly-sweet dystopian future. It’s enchanting and unnerving in equal measure.

For all the theatricality of a Dorian Electra show, the performer is smart to not rely solely on shock value. To see the deconstruction of masculinity from an artist between the binary enacted with such irreverent playfulness is nothing short of exhilarating. Make no mistake, this protest pop could be just the thing to kickstart a genderqueer revolution.

Tramlines Festival Announces Second Wave Of 2022 Acts

Alex Gibbon on 4 February 2022

Tramlines, Sheffield’s biggest city-based music festival has announced its latest round of music acts and the full comedy lineup. The 2022 event will mark the 13th edition of South Yorkshire’s biggest party and take place at Hillsborough Park in Sheffield from Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th July.

Joining the party is Bad Boy Chiller Crew, Lady Leshurr, Alfie Templeman and Kelis, alongside more exciting additions including Crawlers, Bleach Lab, Baby Queen, The Clockworks and Elvana.

Also, comedy will be returning to Hillsborough with a huge line-up including headliners Jason Manford, Russell Kane and Seann Walsh. This latest wave of new acts will join headliners Sam Fender, Kasabian and Madness with over five stages of music, a family-friendly area and a genre-spanning line-up of performers including everyone from internationally acclaimed acts to grassroots talent.

Alongside this latest line-up announcement, Tramlines also reveals that Weekend tickets have sold out with 95% of the festival’s tickets now sold, with only an extremely limited number of Day tickets available. Day tickets for Tramlines are priced from £50 plus booking fees and can be purchased alongside VIP ticket options from www.tramlines.org.uk. Sign up for ticket alerts here: https://bit.ly/TL22SignUp.

Tramlines 2022 takes place following an exceptional event in 2021 where the festival took place as part of the Government’s Event Research Programme. It was the largest festival in Western Europe to go ahead since lockdown restrictions were eased and marked a national celebration of the return to live music.

Kelis is back in 2022 for the first time since joining us on the Ponderosa back in 2017. The multi-award winning artist is bound to be dropping classics such as ‘Trick Me’ and ‘Millionaire’. British rapper Lady Leshurr also makes a return to the festival, bringing her expert lyricism and freestyles, best known for her ‘Queen’s Speech’ series.

Alfie Templeman finally gets his opportunity to grace Hillsborough park after having to cancel his appearance last year due to isolating. The ‘Happiness in Liquid Form’ singer, who said he was “gutted” in missing out on his slot last year, will appear on Saturday alongside newly announced Liverpool rock-group Crawlers and London alt-rockers Bleach Lab.

Joining Friday’s line-up is Baby Queen, who brings her hazy alt-pop hits to Sheffield’s biggest party. While Galway four-piece The Clockworks join the bill to add a post-punk twist to what will be the start of another memorable weekend. Also joining the Line-Up for 2022 is Bradford bassline collective Bad Boy Chiller Crew, bringing with them even more genre-spanning sounds to Tramlines Line-Up. Sunday will see a performance from Elvana, an Elvis fronted Nirvana tribute band. Unfortunately due to scheduling issues, The Snuts (Friday) can no longer join us at Tramlines 2022.

Comedy has become a mainstay of the festival and in 2022 Tramlines has secured some huge names kicking off with Seann Walsh who headlines on Friday. Seann is a multi-award winning performer with a growing list of TV credits including QI, Strictly Come Dancing, Celebrity Juice and 8 out of 10 cats. Sean is joined on Friday by Scott Bennett, Michelle Shaughnessy, Alisdair Beckett-King, Vince Atta and host Danny McLoughlin.

Saturday headliner Russell Kane is a UK household name due to numerous TV appearances as a guest and as a presenter of his own shows including 2016 travel doc Stupid Man – Smart Phone. Joining Russell on Saturday are Tom Ward, Karen Bayley, Harry Stachini, Jack Gleadow and host Matt Read.

The Sunday showcase is headlined by Jason Manford, well known due his tenure as team leader on 8 out of 10 cats, his numerous presenting roles and his appearances in West End musicals such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Producers and Sweeney Todd. Also appearing on Sunday are Ivan Brackenberry, Lily Philips and host Emmanuel Sonubi who has been hotly tipped by both Jason Manford and Russell Kane.

Timm Cleasby, Tramlines Operations Director said, “I’m beyond excited for Tramlines 2022, Our first announcement was ace and now this? You had me at Kelis and Elvana… The return of Lady Leshurr too, just mega. Add to that Jason Manford, Seann Walsh and Lily Philips I’m gonna need more hours in my weekend.“