A Word from our Editor in Chief - Issue Three

Hey there. It’s good to be back. We’d like to say we’ve missed you, but we’ve had a lot going on. 

The Negativmobile - Kirkland’s ridiculous car - was crashed and written off with Kirkland and Isaac inside. I was smoking a cigarette with Iggy Pop’s chauffeur in an ill-fated attempt to get the last issue into his hands. And the boys got matching Negativland tattoos, making us all have to face the fact this magazine isn’t just some twisted lucid dream. 

This issue took us to Montreux, which you’ll see ahead is a chance we bled dry. Kirkland and Dylan wore three-piece suits through the airport so they didn’t crumple in their carry-ons, and were evil-eyed by everyone in the airport for their efforts. 

It’s been a messy gaze through the looking glass of assorted broken cameras, and I think it matches what we’ve got in store for you: a glass raised to the PROVOCATEURS. 

Inside, you’ll find the debauchery of the Britpop days, the swear-y, brash bravado of a pop-punk swan song, and, my favourite yet, an in-depth profile on DEADLETTER, Britain’s best musical export. Even a band called SLAG snuck in. Isn’t it just what you hoped for? 

And there have been changes. There’s art in this issue, for one. We know there’s more than one way to skin a cat, and more ways to push the envelope than just through music. 

Inside are a few faces we’ve known for a while. Grace and I first caught our cover stars DEADLETTER in 2023 in Paris, at Supersonic Block Party. Heartworms, too, were first caught that summer. Other stories will unravel in this 72-page knockout - our biggest yet. This issue’s made up of a wonderful cohort of smart guitarists and foul-mouthed beauty queens. It’s been a shag to write up and the most supreme pleasure. 

Some of the boys’ best shots are ahead. Isaac’s captured all the sleazy glamour you could have wished for through the muses of Midding and SLAG. And one of my favourite photos you’ll see in just a minute, that Kirkland took of Heartworms. She’s looking right into the lens; right at you. You’re in luck. 

I’d also like to thank the newest member of our slick new team, Myles Johnson, who’s kept us all on task with a spreadsheet, a tapped wristwatch, and the promise of a pint just as soon as we get this bit done.

We hope you like our dandy new look, but we’re still the same-old underneath. Still put our Vivienne Westwood charcoal trousers on one leg at a time. 

As always, 

Kate