The Utopiates - Let’s Make This Happen

This month sees London-based outfit The Utopiates release the title track from their upcoming album ‘Let’s Make This Happen’ (coming March ‘26). Issued via V2 Records, it follows last month’s divine ‘Montezuma’.

Image & artwork courtesy of the band.

The Utopiates have always had a bullishness to them, despite the groove-laden baggy influences of their first album or the 00s NYC vibe of their recent singles. Here, it emerges coolly and calmly on this ode to self-belief in the last chance saloon.

Musically and spiritually, ‘Let’s Make This Happen’ feels like the natural successor to their last single from ‘Montezuma’. The hazy perfection of that earlier track has drifted back home, recharged and restless. Now, they step into the faceless sprawl of London, ready to carve their path on their own dreamy, self-assured terms.

There’s a kind of pain here - a beautiful, stubborn ache that draws us to the underdog. It spills from them effortlessly; that quiet defiance we so often mistake for heroism, and rightly so. Dan Popplewell’s voice carries the wide-eyed innocence of Rob Harvey and the stoic depth of Bernard Sumner, winding itself around synth lines that shimmer with Kraftwerk’s elegance.

“It can still happen, let’s make this happen”

As the phrase loops, the song’s true beauty unfurls bittersweet and bruised by doubt. Maybe it won’t happen; maybe it will. But it should. Still, they move forward, unshaken, their credibility intact. In another time, with Lammo or John Kennedy behind them, they’d be headlining academy stages, their names inked into flyers and hearts.

But alas, the game has again changed, or perhaps gone entirely. And so, they spiral, beautifully out of sync, refusing to march to anyone else’s beat.

The Utopiates - Montezuma

The Utopiates released their latest single, ‘Montezuma’, at the end of July via V2 Records. It’s the fourth single from the upcoming second album due in early 2026.

The previous three singles have taken the band on a journey away from the elegant baggy grooves of their debut album. ‘Neighbourhood’ and ‘Reputation’ took them to NYC and Nu-rave, whilst ‘Evanescent’ became their most left-field track to date with its Skint & Demoralised-esque spoken word.

Banner image & artwork courtesy of the band.

On ‘Montezuma’, the flirtations with LCD Soundsystem, Tom Vek, and The Rapture chill out and mesh with the effortlessness of the debut album. The bassline has the funk of those above but has been given Peter Hook’s iconic dose of bliss.  

The keys glisten on sun-kissed waves lapping over pristine beaches, allowing frontman Daniel Popplewell to paint pictures of love in technicolour. Lyrically, this is comfortably Popplewell’s finest moment to date. Too many writers leap to the feeling of love as a get-rich-quick songwriting scheme. Popplewell takes you on a journey from the bleakness of 9 to 5:

“So, pleased to meet you and what do you do? / I fake all these friendships for cash / It’s dragging me down and it’s stealing my prime”

Then reminds you of why you sell your soul to get there:

“Dream of the horizon / Close your eyes and see, / We lived and died in Montezuma”

The Utopiates may be in a lazy mode sonically here, but the creativity at play is making next year’s album a drool-worthy prospect.

The Utopiates – Evanescent

London-based groove machine The Utopiates return this Friday with their first release of 2025. Their new single ‘Evanescent’ was produced by Pigeon Detectives and Maximo Park cohort Andy Hawkins. It will be released via V2 Records.

Image & artwork courtesy of the band.

Previous singles ‘Neighbourhood’ and ‘Reputation’ have been privileged to lift 00s NYC indie-electro back to the fore. As it turns out, they’ve been the perfect bridge to ‘Evanescent’ where the band, arguably, step out alone sonically for the first time.

Frontman Dan Popplewell adopts the poetic fire of Skint & Demoralised in the verses, allowing the songs’ discourse of time passing you by to swell. His newly adopted spoken word delivery comes after years of post-punk bands doing the same. It is a testament to his venomous clarion call speeches that it sounds fresh, a lone wolf in a bloated crowd of intolerable bores.  

Josh Redding’s punchy riff condenses Art Brut and TV On The Radio into a slick, angular moment of aggression. Not since Stone Cold kicked to the gut pre-stunner has something so jarring been this enjoyable! Its brutal impact allows the looping synths and Popplewell’s angelic chorus to melt away life’s ills.

Live, The Utopiates have always had an air of defiance that hasn’t shone through on the records. It hasn’t needed to; such was the beauty of the debut album. On stage, though, their humanity shines through, and they’re band desperate to prove to the world they’re worthy of attention. On ‘Evanescent’, they’ve allowed this sentiment to seep in, and it’s freed them up to take creative risks, and it’s paid off.

Click the image below for tickets to their upcoming tour:

The Utopiates – Reputation

London outfit The Utopiates are back with their new single, ‘Reputation. ‘Released last week on V2 Records, it follows their LCD Soundsystem-driven ‘Neighbourhood,’ which came out in September.

Image & artwork courtesy of the band.

Their direction of travel on ‘Neighbourhood’ significantly shifted towards NYC and the 00s indie-electro scene. ‘Reputation’ struts further into this territory with crunching basslines akin to London’s 00s scenesters New Young Pony Club.

Frontman Dan Poppewell taps into his vocal cadence on ‘Devolution’, which allows the Disco elements to creep in alongside the New Order meets nu-rave synths, which sprinkle magic sporadically throughout.

The combination of disco and indie-electro in this stripped-back style allows The Utopiates to glide in between Radio 4 and Tom Vek to occupy the fascinating ground. What neither of those above had, nor anyone from the nu-rave/electro scenes, was Josh Redding. He shone as a riff and solo maker of baggy and psyche classics on the debut album. Now, he appears mercurially like a guitar genie. Sprinkling psyche magic a la (Moon Duo) but in concise moments of technicoloured bliss.

The Utopiates - Neighbourhood

The North London groove machine returns with the new single ‘Neighbourhood’ on September 20th. Not resting on the laurels of 2023’s critically acclaimed album ‘The Sun Also Rises’, they have spent 2024 in the studio plotting their next moves.

Image & artwork courtesy of the band.

‘TSAR’ was an array of baggy, rave, and 90s indie grooves, and those hallmarks remain intact. However, this time round, the jagged NYC funk of LCD Soundsystem and abrasive melodies of TV On The Radio filter into the guitar blasts. It’s freshened up a band already at the cutting edge of things.

The introduction of 00s influences continues with the little touches of Does it Offend Say Yeah and Sportsday Megaphone. The nu-rave touches on the synths and production add subtle depth to a marauding groove.

Lyrically, The Utopiates' debut offered couplets to engage with, but the album was ultimately about the sonic. ‘Neighbourhood, however, takes them to another level. Insightful social comment and guttural polemic unite to add another magic ingredient to the mix.

If there is a blueprint to kick off a run-up to a new album, this is surely it. The key touch points of their origins spark new avenues of creativity to produce yet another indie-dance crossover anthem.

Click the image below for tickets to their next gig:

The Utopiates: Chinnerys, Southend

Last Week, 2023’s all-conquering heroes, The Utopiates, made their debut live appearance In Southend at Chinnerys as part of the burgeoning Indie Cult Club.

*banner image courtesy of Indie Cult Club

Josh Redding made a name for himself in 2023, and his surge towards the guitar icon shows no sign of slowing down. His protracted intro to the set opener ‘Seekers’ is divine. The spiralling licks floated into view, indicating that something special was coming. The dreamlike state of ‘Seekers’ glides into carnival grooves of ‘Devolution’, which dissipates for the intense dystopia of ‘Only Human’. An opening trio that, on paper, should jar but, in their hands, is seamless.

Most bands in their position would still be riding the crest of last year's wave. The Utopiates are already one new single into the journey towards album number (due later this year). ‘Love Pill’ marked a real stride forward creatively in the studio. Live, they harnessed its love of Ibiza and Chicago to make it into a starring role in the set, which is some going when the instant classic ‘Best and Worst Days’ present. Frontman Dan Popplewell’s vocal in the closing stages of ‘Love Pill’ transcends into a hymnal state, nourishing all that stands before him.

Image courtesy of Indie Cult Club

Frontman Popplewell continues to shine with his more aggressive take on ‘Making History’. His venomous delivery of the Oasis-tinged lyrics, “One day you’ll see, yeah they’ll look at me, I’m not up here making tunes, I’m making history!” gave the Black Grape-esque anthem the swagger and bitterness it merits.

Another glimpse of album number two came via the debut airing of ‘Insomnia’. On this showing, it is shaping up to be another album of the year contender.

The Utopiates – Love Pill

2023 breakout band The Utopiates are set to release their new single ‘Love Pill’ on November 15th. It’s the first release from their second album which will be out in the new year. After the critical acclaim of May’s debut album ‘The Sun Also Rises’ there are big shoes to fill.

Image & artwork courtesy of the band.

As dawn breaks on their ‘The Sun Also Rises’ success, ‘Love Pill’ strides forward with bags full of poolside charm and romance. Hints of MGMT and Friendly Fires electronic 00s debuts caress this ode to frontman Dan Popplewell’s better half.

Their debut album was everything a debut should be. Desperate to be heard, a statement of intent, a life’s journey oozing out of young men yearning to be gang for life. ‘Love Pill’, however, witnesses the band maturing, pulling from 80s pop, sentimental lyrics, and nu-rave to conjure a genuinely touching moment of alt-pop.

The Utopiates are currently on tour with The Pigeon Detectives; you’d be foolish to miss them. To further whet your appetite, a seven-minute extended version of ‘Love Pill’ will drop in the new year.

The Utopiates: This Feeling Stage, Truck Festival

It’s been quite the year for The Utopiates. A sold-out tour, debut album release, and now headliners of the ‘This Feeling’ stage at Truck Festival. Our paths last crossed at their homecoming show at London’s iconic 100 Club. Would their condensed headline set live up to that famous night?

With the shorter set-in-place, it allowed The Utopiates to mirror the emotional ebb and flow of their debut album ‘The Sun Also Rises’ with greater impact. The immediate uplift generated from Josh Redding’s guitar playing, so often emulating the Greats is now entering a realm of its own. The spirals of Hendrix and Squire on ‘Only Human’ drag the audience into their despairing, yet illuminating world. Redding is beginning to develop a funk and soul swagger to his rock ‘n’ roll on stage, increasing his magnetism to that of the mesmerising frontman, Dan Popplewell.

At the 100 Club, with time on their side, ‘Ups and Downs’ thrilled with its piano loops but descended into an apocalyptic ‘XTRMNTR’ meets Jagz Kooner tear-up. At Truck, it stays it’s in lane but, to no less effect as the rammed tent grooves towards the heavens like it was 1991. Its effortless flow into album closer ‘Simple Minds’ was masterful, the kind that begs for sunsets on mainstages.

Frontman Dan Popplewell’s vocal was on point all night but, at this juncture, went from indie also ran to a magician toying with its artform. His soul power flashed its teeth but, with the essence of the song about drifting off poetically into the sun, he softens his snarl, allowing his vocal to transcend music and become a vocal breeze kissing the cheeks of onlookers.

There is such confidence, such exceptional precision to everything they do now, 2024 simply must see The Utopiates pack out big top tents and open main stages to the more casual music fan. Their melody, intensity, and ability will them over with ease. It’s inevitable.

The Utopiates: 100 Club, London

A week ago, The Utopiates played the final leg of their UK tour at London’s iconic 100 Club. Fresh from the critical acclaim of their debut album ‘The Sun Also Rises’, could they cement their place in the hearts and minds of the packed London crowd.

Images courtesy of Elena Torrano

Last October they headlined This Feeling’s ‘Test Transmission’ night with The Velvet Hands, Holy Youth Movement’, and The Facades. It marked the departure of a band in its infancy to one of main stage ready. A headliner had been born.

The months since have witnessed an array of fine singles championed by Steve Lamacq and John Kennedy. All that they needed now was, the people. Neither failed to disappoint at the 100 Club.

Josh Redding’s psychedelic intro to the set was nothing short of breathtaking. Regaling in the warped magic of Hendrix, his icy cold veins remained unmoved by the occasion whilst a sense of greatness became tangible all around him. The plucky upstarts from Shiiine On’s Summer party in 2021 were now in full Darth Vader mode announcing, “now I am the master”.

The Utopiates, like The Charlatans, Primal Scream, or The Stone Roses before them are a band of brothers. At any point, one of them can step into the limelight to prove their worth and, on ‘Making History’ they demonstrate this collective power. Luke Nottingham’s killer bassline signals to the audience to get moving whilst frontman Dan Popplewell brings punks fire to his message of now or never. Together they create a welcoming defiance that is made undeniable by Ed Godshaw’s Rob Collins-esque keys and the effortlessly fluid Joe Jeffreys. The funk and punk is all blown sky high once Redding steps forward with his ecstatic release of Hendrix via Squire and Prince guitars.  

Despite Redding’s prowess, The Utopiates are not just another guitar for the landfill. On ‘Illumanise’, they blend the 00s nu-rave scene with the early 90s baggy scene for a moment of groove-laden joy. Then, they do something truly special on the latest single ‘Ups and Downs’. Sounding like a rave classic from the early 90s, they set fire to the crowd who in turn scorch the 100 Club in pure hedonism. Popplewell strutted in unison with the crowd as Godshaw’s classic piano looped as per the single but, in the closing moments, a glorious descent into the post-apocalyptic world of Primal Scream’s ‘XTRMNTR’ emerged. It married so well with the darker moments of the set and pointed to an intoxicating future.

The Utopiates, like all great bands are desperate. For your attention, love, and ultimately, to survive as a creative gang. On this showing, they are on the precipice of having everything they have ever dreamed of.

You can buy their debut album ‘The Sun also Rises’ here https://merch.theutopiates.com/products/the-sun-also-rises-album-pre-sale

The Utopiates - The Sun Also Rises

London-based outfit The Utopiates are set to release their debut album ‘The Sun Also Rises’ on the 5th May via V2 Records.

Image and artwork courtesy of V2 Records.

Over recent years, the band’s live shows have been mesmeric, but their desire really grabbed audiences’ attention. A sheer will to succeed was omnipresent, a sense that their time is now was always at the forefront of everything.

Where many bands fail to translate their live power in the studio The Utopiates have succeeded on  ‘Seekers’, ‘Making History’, and ‘It’s Coming For You’ as the band serves up their destiny with serious mass appeal. ‘Seekers’ spirals heavenly with the vastness of ‘Second Coming’ but the anticipation generated is all firmly 1989’s. The military-esque drums and melodic keys create the sense of “coming up” that the album rarely pivots far from. Lead guitarist Josh Redding’s Hendrix and Squire licks forge breathtaking sunsets that unite the classes of ’88, ’92, and the current DMAs generation can unite behind. Political change may loiter in 2024, but culturally, The Utopiates are defining the epoch shift right here, right now!

In recent years, rock ‘n’ roll has fallen by the wayside. Plenty of promise, but a failure to deliver a generation-unifying album. The fashion, the sound, and the polemic felt too indebted to yesteryear. The Utopiates’ however, have found the path which links the broad brushstrokes of New Order’s ‘love’ and Oasis’ swagger with defiant punk and coming-of-age lyrics. Bullish and oozing togetherness and unwavering confidence, ‘Making History’ binds the bucket hats and Doc Martens types with their Oasis-tinged rhetoric:

“One day you’ll see, yeah they’ll look at me, I’m not up here making tunes, I’m making history!”

Ed Godshaw’s keys look to the Inspiral Carpets’ ‘Life’ and Black Grape’s debut, Redding has the showmanship of Prince, whilst Popplewell’s vocal nods to Dave Gahan. Collectively, the destiny they illuminate feels ginormous, but always within their grasp. Meanwhile, on ‘It’s Coming For You’, the hedonism of the Roses’ ‘Tightrope’, ‘Tears’, and ‘How Do You Sleep’ is taken into the mire by Popplewell’s steel and Redding’s heavy guitars. They encapsulate their struggle to escape the lives most of us lead and hate. As Redding’s guitars take flight, Cream’s ‘Disraeli Gears’ dances into view- but with the financial and social burden of the 20s hanging around its neck, rather than the hallucinogenic freedom of the 60s.

Most fledgling bands wear their influences on their sleeves; The Utopiates wear them on a trip. ‘Sick Love’ slips into the post-MDMA rush, with its free-flowing easy-riding soul of Morcheeba and Richard Hawley and Duane Eddy guitars. Whereas ‘Ups and Downs’ takes you right to the heart of a rush, with its nod to Asha JJ’s ‘Tribute’. It’s the acid house-infused anthem Serge Pizzorno has dreamt of making for a decade. ‘Midas Touch’ delves gloriously into the wonk of Happy Mondays’ ‘Wrote For Luck’ on a comedown. Spaced out and expansive, they conjure a blissful sonic for eyes to roll back to.

The album culminates in two places. ‘Only Human’ and ‘Best and Worst Days’, both former singles, light up an already fine album for very different reasons. ‘Only Human’ is the stop-everything moment! Like ‘Live Forever’, ‘Last Night’, and ‘Lay Down’, it pulls from the greats and spits out something new for the world to clutch to its hearts. Depeche Mode’s darkness; Marr’s expressiveness; EMF’s soul; New Fast Automatic Daffodils groove and Prince’s star power are forged into something near perfect, as The Utopiates propel themselves towards greatness.

‘Best and Worst Days’ is a different animal. More universal and polished, it’s classic songwriting that should straddle indie and corporate radio stations alike. The shimmering acoustic guitars of ‘Kinky Afro’ and the chilled sunset beats of ‘Dennis and Lois’ chime gloriously in the intro of this tale of looking back. Popplewell’s ability to bring influences into his indie-soul vocal continue. He softens his snarl to allow Bernard Sumner and Danny Wilson nodes in. It adds to the sense of self-reflection permeating throughout. But, in the closing moments, he turns on his raw power to say goodbye to his younger self.  

They’ve taken the classic rock ‘n’ roll adage of “you have to go there to comeback” and juxtaposed it with their archetypal trippy sound. It’s an astonishingly open ode to their early twenties. Nights of excess, relationship failure, and letting people down are examined from a wiser perspective. It’s the latter that gives the track’s lyrics brevity the sonic deserves. Without the protagonists understanding that it’s made them who they are, a Cobain nihilistic nightmare would be looming. No matter the torment of the discourse, through Ed Godhsaw’s keys, the single finds a way to cruise effortlessly to the sun. He’s lifted The Horror’s distressed seaside sonic of ‘Primary Colours’ out of its despair and with ecstasy and New Order.

Whether you’re coming of age or finding a new lease on life, The Utopiates are the band to soundtrack it. From ‘Devolution’ to ‘It’s Coming To You’ they clutch onto hope with their fingernails as their sonic tumbles towards the darkness. Like all great bands before them, they find a way to lead the mortals out of their doldrums. During the introspection of ‘The Sun Also Rises’ the fog begins to lift allowing the rhapsodic ‘Ups and Downs’ conjures a moment of unrivalled happiness. The journey to their promised land is completed on the angelic reflective come-down piece ‘Simple Minds’.

Undeterred by Spotify’s influences, they take their time on intros and solos alike. They’ve allowed rock ‘n’ roll to breathe once more. The results are nothing short of a perfect debut album.

‘The Sun Also Rises’ is available for pre-order here: https://merch.theutopiates.com/products/the-sun-also-rises-album-pre-sale. Click the image below for tickets to their upcoming tour:

The Utopiates – Ups and Downs

London-based The Utopiates release the last single before their debut album ‘The Sun Also Rises comes out May 5th via V2 Records. ‘Ups and Downs’, released today follows the bombastic ‘Making History’, can it stand up to its quality?

Artwork and images courtesy of the band.

Former single ‘Best and Worst Days’ was a timeless piece of songwriting that waved goodbye to their early 20s and debauched weekenders. ‘Ups and Downs’ however lands them in the heart of those heady days with rave culture at its heart.

On ‘Illumanise’, ‘Devolution’, and ‘Making History’ a love of dance music has been creeping into their work, and here they let go completely and launch into a rave classic. Keyboardist Ed Godshaw taps into the looping pianos Asha JJ’s rave classic ‘Tribute’ which sends everything heavenwards. Keeping it there is Dan Poppelwell’s mesmerising vocal. Steely and always melodic, he carries the weight of our world on his shoulders with ease as he leads us back to the promised land.

In Josh Redding, The Utopiates may possess a generational talent on guitar. Here though, he steps back from his axe to allow their instinctive love of rave to take precedence. It harks back to Primal Scream’s ‘Screamadelica’ and Bobby Gillespie knowing when his time was in the shadows. The selflessness becomes as uplifting as the track itself.

Click the image below for tickets to their upcoming tour:

The Utopiates – Making History

London-based The Utopiates are on the road to their debut album release this May. A key stop-off is their latest single ‘Making History’ released last Friday via V2 Records.

Images and artwork courtesy of the band.

Last time out on ‘Illumanise’, their free-flowing edges sharpened on their Bowie meets Black Grape trip. It also kicked off their lyrical foray into the statement of intent territory which ‘Making History’ has doubled down on.

Frontman Dan Popplewell’s lyrics deftly reference Noel Gallagher’s Knebworth entrance (“I’m not up here making tunes I’m making history”) and Oasis’ live album ‘Familiar To Millions’ (“This music, I use it to ease my soul / And there’s millions familiar, it’s rock and roll”) as he lays bare the bands desire to succeed.

Whilst the Burnage boys had the songs and, their confidence was obviously in-built, they were however financially backed by Creation Records and latterly Sony. Despite being signed to V2, the precarious state of the music industry can ill afford three trips to Rockfields to get their sound right. The urgency, the desperate need to pull this off shines through everything here. Luke Nottingham’s bassline, as funked up as their previous work is more intense, directly burrowing its way to your soul whilst Popllewell’s vocals are set to attack mode! Meanwhile, Ed Godshaw takes the pop immediacy of Clint Boon’s keys out for a joyride with New Fast Automatic Daffodils climbing majesty.

Even Josh Redding’s penchant for meandering Hendrix and Squire solos has its foot on the accelerator. His solos, so often mid-rush pieces of bliss have transformed into a rabid elapsing moment of technicolour destruction.

Far less quality has risen to the top in recent months. With The Utopiates debut album on the horizon, the UK will finally have bona fide genius and independent spirit alike on top once again!

Click the image for tickets to their upcoming tour:

The Utopiates - Illuminise

London via Leeds outfit The Utopiates have stormed 2022 with sold tours and signing to the illustrious V2 Records. They look to cap it off in style with their new single ‘Illuminise’, recorded at Nave Studios in Leeds with Producer Andy Hawkins.

Image & artwork courtesy of http://copaceticpr.com/

Their previous work has seen them in explorative moods. ‘Illuminise’ however, takes a far more direct path. Frontman Dan Popplewell introduces a snarl to his vocals, bringing Richard Archer’s early career to the fringes of Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson but musically, they never lose sight of their baggy spirit.

As with all their previous work though, they impart killer hooks to make you dance. The keys and bass have boiled down Delphic and Friendly Fires’ entire career into three minutes and married them with a deranged Mick Ronson solo.

The bombastic funk of Bowie’s ‘Low’ album is injected with the wayward souls of Black Grape on their most intense outing to date. The Berlin influences in the production light up frontman Dan Popplewell’s newfound venom as he dismisses the bitterness in his life:

“So when you’re wired / You’ll see me up ahead / Rising up we’re, Illuminising!”

It would have been easy for The Utopiates to deliver another groove-laden gem to send them off victorious for the year. However, they’ve gone out all guns blazing, proving that creative risk is still something to strive for. Yet, with their talent, it simply isn’t a risk!

Check back here tomorrow to hear the new single!

The Utopiates : The Social, London

Previous Utopiates gigs have seen them struggle with sound and strings. Struggle as they may have, their talent and dogged spirit always overcome. Last Wednesday, they headlined This Feeling’s Test Transmission night. It comes after a run of headline gigs and it shows. Strolling on stage, relaxed, hindered by nothing and no one, their aura says headliner forever more.

The confidence is personified by a blissed-out rendition of ‘Alpha’ as the opener. The tightly packed Social has had its pulses set alight by the anarchic holy Youth Movement and raucous garage licks of Velvet Hands. They could have been forgiven for changing their set, moving their big hitters first. Not a bit of it. They hit their casual groove and build elegantly until it’s time. Time for Josh Redding to deliver Squire psychedelia and Prince-esque majesty in the solo.

From here on in, the crowd, populated by lots of fellow bands are in total awe. Whether it’s the trippiness of ’Love Salvation’ or the Chicago-enthused ‘Devolution’, they turn heads in disbelief. On record, and especially on stage here, they mirror the greatness of Scorsese. Never rushed, they give space to the solos and Ed Godshaw’s subtle but killer keys and yet, always sound intense, like theirs a million things going on. It’s detail rather than overindulgence; personified by the brooding Depeche Mode inspired ‘Only Human’.

The window bands to reflect the audience back on stage is always a brief, and glorious time. That time passed at this gig. The Utopiates have greatness coursing through them and this was a huge stride to big stages and immorality.

*Image courtesy of Caffy St. Luce (Rocklands)

The Utopiates - Best and Worst Days

It’s a special release day for The Utopiates. ‘Best and Worst Days’ is their first signed to V2 Records and marks the official run to their debut album.

Single is available from their Bandcamp page.

The shimmering acoustic guitars of ‘Kinky Afro’ and the chilled sunset beats of ‘Dennis and Lois’ chime gloriously in the intro of this tale of looking back. Frontman Dan Popplewell’s ability to bring influences into his indie-soul vocal continues to grow. This time out, he softens his snarl to allow nodes of Bernard Sumner and Danny Wilson in. It adds to the sense of self-reflection permeating throughout but, in the closing moments, he turns on his raw power to say goodbye to his younger self.  

They’ve taken the classic rock ‘n’ roll adage of “you have to go there to comeback” and juxtaposed it with their archetypal trippy sound. It’s an astonishingly open ode to their early twenties. Nights of excess, relationship failure, and letting people down are examined from a wiser perspective. It’s that latter point that gives the track’s lyrics brevity the sonic deserves. Without the protagonists understanding that it’s made them who they are, a Cobain nihilistic nightmare would be looming.

No matter the torment of the discourse, through Ed Godhsaw’s keys, the single finds a way to cruise effortlessly to the sun. He’s lifted The Horror’s distressed seaside sonic of ‘Primary Colours’ out it’s their despair and slipped them a pill whilst dancing with New Order.

The Utopiates formed during lockdown. Quite how the bleakest of times produced something so entrenched in love is beyond us. This is not the sound of a band on the rise to their debut album. This is The Mondays approaching ‘Pills Thrills and Bellyaches’ or Depeche Mode gearing up for ‘Violator’. Fully formed and brilliant!

Catch them tonight at Colours in Hoxton.

The Utopiates - Devolution

London’s Utopiates will release their hugely anticipated debut album later this year. Starting their party in 2022 Is a new single ‘Devolution’. To date, their remarkable output has been recorded from frontman Dan Popplewell’s bedroom. Now recording at Leeds Nave Studios with producer Andy Hawkins, they have a chance to expand what is, an already colossal sound.

The Utopiates catalogue is available from their Bandcamp page.

Clearly unphased by the step into a more professional arena, they bring their love of house music to the fore. Trippy acid house drums fall and climb alongside a ‘Cannonball’ (Breeders) bassline to lay the foundations for Ed Godshaw’s brilliantly blissful keys.

On previous material, their fine rhythm section has allowed Popplewell’s indie-soul vocals soul to soar and guitarist Josh Redding to find new ways to make John Squire the past. Here, in a Bobby Gillespie show of creativity first, they step back. Popplewell’s ability to refrain gives everything more snap and, crucially, allows for a collective spirit to prosper.

Similarly, Redding’s guitar work has been spiralling psychedelic magic from the rock gods Squire and Hendrix. Barely featuring here, he drops in with enriching hooks to kneed everything together, and then, when you think the archetypal blast is coming, he meanders in like Marr with a feather-light touch.

The Utopiates have a great sense of community as a band. Among their fans and peers, they soak it all in and are there for the ride, not the destination. This single is yet more proof of that. A delicate house number which, live, who knows where they could take it on bigger stages with better light shows. Distinctively theirs it offers avenues for collaboration on remixes. Visions of Graeme Park taken it to Hacienda heights or Jagz Kooner dragging into furious despair, it just has to happen, right?

The Utopiates: 229, London

North London’s The Utopiates were second on the bill for the Shiiine On Summer Party at 229 this past Saturday. After wowing fans and critics alike with their EP ‘Anywhere But Here’, could they deliver on the big stage?

Despite technical issues, they grooved their way to the hearts and minds of the Shiiine On faithful. Former single, ‘Only Human’ lit up the room like a bush fire. Josh Redding’s guitars spiralled with such intensity alongside Dan Popplewell’s vocals to conjure, the embers are still burning bright five days on.

On ‘Antidote’, they found unity and power demands the UK’s attention, immediately. It soared above the clouds but crucially, always felt within reach. This kind of songwriting combined with this magical delivery will take them to the main stages of festivals and, thousand along to see them.

This is not a one-man band by any means but, at times Redding’s guitars drew the focus like no other of recent times. On ‘Anywhere But Here’ Popplewell’s acoustic guitar and Ed Godshaw’s keys laid the groundwork for his Squire-esque majesty.

In ‘Love Salvation’ they have set closer for life. Anthemic and euphoric, it had that mid-paced beauty that pulled a group of strangers together as one. Tripping along like Primal Scream, swaggering like Mondays, they’ve tapped into a golden age of love-seekers and found a way to make it sound fresh.

A truly astonishing performance from a band only formed in lockdown. It’s easy to see why The Pigeon Detectives have added them as support at the Forum this autumn. 

*Image courtesy of Shiiine On legend Louise Deveraux

The Utopiates - Anywhere But Here

North London outfit The Utopiates are back with their debut EP ‘Anywhere But Here’. To date, they have been nothing short of spectacular, can they maintain their form?

On their previous single ‘Only Human’, they delved into the past to paint their futures. This tried and tested method is on display once more. However, there’s an overriding sense of unity permeating the EP which takes it to new horizons.

You can buy the EP on their Bandcamp page.

‘Love Salvation’ is blessed with the soul of Puressence and Chris Helme’s infectious simplicity. As Dan Popplewell decrees “this trip is love”, images of Gareth Southgate’s England bringing harmony to a troubled nation flood the mind. All the while, Josh Redding’s guitars tap into the heart and psyche of Liam “Skin’ Tyson (Cast/Robert Plant) as they blast love into the sky. So effortless and hypnotic, they almost make Cast and Space Monkeys brand of joy redundant on this ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ meets the Mondays and Electronic meandering masterpiece

Title track ‘Anywhere But Here’ is heavily indebted to the grooves of ‘Wrote For Luck’ and the warped genius of Flowered Up. However, the menace in Popplewell’s vocals cut through to create a unique punk-cum-soul take on the baggy sound. Then, taking everything to higher planes are Redding’s guitars. Full of Mark Day’s debauchery and Squire’s ‘Second Coming’ and ‘Do It Yourself’ expansive magnificence, they climb towards the heavens like a guiding light.

Whilst the majesty dissipates somewhat on ‘The Getaway’, there is something truly laudable about its accessibility. The gentle hum of the Cure and shoegaze guitars and Popplewell’s dazzling Miles Kane vocals call upon all not just an indie niche. They can lure pop lovers towards something more meaningful and, reacquaint music obsessives with the pop that started their journey.

This EP "is love, it belongs to us and it’s the only thing worth living for.“