Leeds indie figureheads English Teacher release their eagerly anticipated debut LP ‘This Could Be Texas’, out today (April 12th) via Island Records.
The quartet’s biting social commentary and unique musical soundscapes have positioned them as influential figures within the emerging indie landscape, and as such, the album is already being described as “a landmark debut” (NME), “one of the most confident and charismatic debuts in years” (Record Collector) and “setting (them) up for a long and adventurous career” (UNCUT).
This follows the four-piece gracing the covers of indie bibles NME, DORK and So Young and bagging lead features and shoots in the latest print editions of DIY and CLASH. Critical praise has also easily flowed from critics at the broadsheets including The Guardian, The Observer, The Independent, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, Financial Times, The New York Times, The Evening Standard and TIME Magazine (Best Songs Of 2023).
The cross-cultural appeal of the group has seen relentless A-Listing on BBC 6 Music (Steve Lamacq, Lauren Laverne) accompanied by regular Radio 1 (Jack Saunders, Gemma Bradley), Radio 2 (Jo Whiley), Radio X (John Kennedy) and Apple Music (Elton John) spins. On the live circuit the group have supported acts including Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Paolo Nutini, Parquet Courts and Yard Act, in addition to notable debut slots at SXSW and Glastonbury.
Heralding the sound of a band inhabiting a sonic identity all their own, ‘This Could Be Texas’ both begins and ends with references to nineties touchpoints – melodic, college rock-worthy guitars on opener ‘Albatross’, and a huge arena-worthy climax to the anthemic ‘Albert Road’. In between, there is room for everything from the subtle, experimental landscape changes of ‘Not Everybody Gets To Go To Space’, to the more grounded, intimate likes of ‘Broken Biscuits’ and ‘Nearly Daffodils’. The pace is forever shifting as they move smoothly through the gears; rave-reviewed singles ‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab’ and the reworked ‘R&B’ have a very different feel to something like the soaring balladry of ‘You Blister My Paint’, but both have a similar sort of searing energy in common that encompasses the entire record.
Primed for an extensive sold-out UK tour this spring, English Teacher’s stunning ascent continues to reach new levels, with the band having recently announced their biggest headline shows to date for November, including debut appearances at London’s O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire and Manchester’s O2 Ritz. Following on from their thrilling debut appearance on Later With…Jools Holland (watch here), the group’s formidable rise saw them named Official Independent Venue Week Artist Ambassador for 2024 (following in the footsteps of Wolf Alice, Arlo Parks, Wet Leg & Beabadoobee), having previously been vocal advocates for unblocking the regional pipeline (Fontaine has written pieces for both NME & DIY on these issues and spoke in parliament as part of the grassroots venue crisis inquiry earlier this month). With a mammoth European tour also ticked off alongside Irish outfit SPRINTS earlier this year, as well as a BBC 6 Music Festival DJ slot for frontwoman Lily Fontaine in Manchester, the band’s stature has continued to grow at an extraordinary rate in the lead-up to their debut album release.
Speaking ahead of their LP release, English Teacher revealed: “Not everybody gets to go to space but if you do, don’t be surprised if the planet your Amazon sponsored Teslaship3000 takes you to is just like Batley. And on the way, while you’re spinning in G-force, that feeling you get of neither being here nor there, well we hope you find this album suits the mood. We’ve questioned what, who and where home is, and we’ve found fluidity and each other. Lame as it sounds, we’re all four of us the same and vastly different, just like you all are. We hope you find some joy spending 50 minutes and 32 seconds in the uncanny valley with us.”
Produced by Marta Salogni (Bjork, Bon Iver, M.I.A.), English Teacher’s ‘This Could Be Texas’ (LP) is out now via Island Records and available on all platforms.
English Teacher is Lily Fontaine (vocals, rhythm guitar, synth), Douglas Frost (drums, piano, vocals), Nicholas Eden (bass), Lewis Whiting (lead guitar)
‘This Could Be Texas’ (LP) Tracklist
01 – Albatross
02 – The World’s Biggest Paving Slab
03 – Broken Biscuits
04 – I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying
05 – Mastermind Specialism
06 – This Could Be Texas
07 – Not Everybody Gets To Go To Space
08 – R&B
09 – Nearly Daffodils
10 – The Best Tears Of Your Life
11 – You Blister My Paint
12 – Sideboob
13 – Albert Road
Live Dates
26th April – Le Printemps De Bourges, France
8th May – Concorde 2, Brighton, UK (sold-out)
9th May – Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth, UK (sold-out)
10th May – Thekla, Bristol, UK (sold-out)
11th May – Clwb lfor Bach, Cardiff, UK (sold-out)
13th May – The Bullingdon, Oxford, UK (sold-out)
15th May – The Foundry, Sheffield, UK (sold-out)
16th May – Irish Centre, Leeds, UK (sold-out)
17th May – Mash House, Edinburgh, UK (sold-out)
18th May – King Tuts, Glasgow, UK (sold-out)
21st May – Ulster Sports Club, Belfast, UK (sold-out)
22nd May – Whelans, Dublin, UK (sold-out)
24th May – Gorilla, Manchester, UK (sold-out)
25th May – Castle and Falcon, Birmingham, UK (sold-out)
28th May – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, UK (sold-out)
29th May – Electric Brixton, London, UK (sold-out)
1st June – Usina, Dudelange, Luxembourg
2nd June – Maifeld Derby, Mannheim, Germany
7th June – Best Kept Secret, Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands
6th July – Roskilde Festival, Roskilde, Denmark
12th July – Pohoda, Trencin, Slovakia
14th July – TRNSMT, Glasgow, UK
26th July – Truck, Oxford, UK
27th July – Tramlines, Sheffield, UK
28th July – Latitude, Suffolk, UK
4th Aug – Y Not, Derbyshire, UK
8th Aug – OYA, Oslo, Norway
9th Aug – Way Out West, Gothenburg, Sweden
11th Aug – Boardmasters, Cornwall, UK
29th Aug – Cala Mijas, Malaga, Spain
30th Aug – Kalorama, Lisbon, Portugal
31st Aug – Nox Orae, La Tour-De-Peliz, Switzerland
1st Sept – End of the Road, Salisbury, UK
23rd Oct – Le Hasard Ludique, Paris, France
25th Oct – Le Grand Mix,Tourcoing, France
26th Oct – London Calling, Amsterdam, Netherlands
27th Oct – Knust, Hamburg, Germany
1st Nov – Neue Zukunft, Berlin, Germany
3rd Nov – Botanique, Brussels, Belgium
12th Nov – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, UK
14th Nov – O2 Ritz, Manchester, UK
18th Nov – St Luke’s, Glasgow, UK
19th Nov – Boiler Shop, Newcastle, UK
21st Nov – SWX, Bristol, UK
Editor.
