English Teacher: shows in Hamburg and London

photo: Denmarc Creary

Leeds based pop noir quartet English Teacher have not been exactly busy since the release of their Live From BBC Maida Vale Studios in 2024. Their label put out an unremarkable 7" for Record Store Day this year to gain some traction again. Not many live shows either. Let's see what they can come up with shows in Hamburg on September 16 as part of the Reeperbahn Festival and a show in London on January 23 at the Troxy, the latter as part of a line-up celebrating the music of David Byrne.

» englishteacherband.com

HCTF review of Live From BBC Maida Vale Studios

English Teacher: "Nearly Daffodils" for Record Store Day

Leeds based pop noir quartet English Teacher made a splash with their first full-length This Could Be Texas in 2024 - the cognoscenti had already embraced their debut EP Polyawkward in 2022. Safe for the Live From BBC Maida Vale Studios EP and a superfluous remix version This Could Be Texas it has been quiet, so their record company has decided to put them back on the map with the release of Nearly Daffodils as a sky blue 7" for Record Store Day (April 18). 1000 copies worldwide with the rather unremarkable Matt Maltese's remix on the B-side.

English Teacher: extra show in London

photo: Denmarc Creary

Leeds based pop noir quartet English Teacher have added an extra show at the Roundhouse in London on November 25. The first one sold out pretty damn fast. They are still riding high on the success of their first full-length, This Could Be Texas: "Post-punk can team up with art rock and New Wave to create something that defies pigeonholing. Their boldness is not just a pose, but very real, taking shit from nobody. The defying I'm Not crying, You're Crying sums it quite nicely."

English Teacher: UK tour dates

photo: Denmarc Creary

Leeds based pop noir quartet English Teacher became critics darlings last year with the release of their This Could Be Texas album. No sign of new material yet - the Live From BBC Maida Vale Studios EP was a stop gap release - but maybe they have come up with something new when they play the large theatres in November.

English Teacher: in-studio performance @ KEXP radio

Watch the video of the September 27, 2024 in-studio performance by indie band English Teacher on The Afternoon Show @ KEXP radio in Seattle. They played six songs from their This Could Be Texas album.

English Teacher: "Not Everybody Gets To Go To Space" video

Leeds based pop noir quartet English Teacher were filmed at The Historic Dockyard, Chatham & Dungeness Beach, as they played Not Everybody Gets To Go To Space. Feel free to ignore the obvious product placement for a new fashion trend. The song and the performance didn't need it. It is a track from their debut album This Could Be Texas.

English Teacher: "Live From BBC Maida Vale Studios" comes to vinyl

English Teacher set up shop for a short set in a fabled recording facility for the Live From BBC Maida Vale Studio EP. Digital only at first, but now it gets a release on white vinyl. They performed three tracks from their This Could Be Texas album, plus covers of Billie Ellish and LCD Soundsystem.

English Teacher: "Birds of a Feather" live video

English Teacher have posted a video of them playing the Billie Eilish song Birds of a Feather. It is a track from their Live From BBC Maida Vale Studios EP.

Live dates:

• 10/03 Le Hasard Ludique, Paris, France
• 10/25 Le Grand Mix,Tourcoing, France
• 10/26 London Calling, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• 10/27 Knust, Hamburg, Germany
• 11/01 Neue Zukunft, Berlin, Germany
• 11/03 Botanique, Brussels, Belgium
• 11/12 O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, UK
• 11/14 O2 Ritz, Manchester, UK
• 11/18 St Luke’s, Glasgow, UK
• 11/19 Boiler Shop, Newcastle, UK
• 11/21 SWX, Bristol, UK

» englishteacherband.com

HCTF review of Live From BBC Maida Vale Studios.

English Teacher: Live From BBC Maida Vale Studios

photo: Harry Isherwood

It took the suits some time to recognize that English Teacher are a damn fine band. Their full-length This Could Be Texas garnered rave reviews earlier this year, two years after the cognoscenti did the same for their debut EP Polyawkward. Now their label Island hopes to capitalize on their new found fame with a five track EP Live From BBC Maida Vale Studios.

English Teacher: live @ Jumbo Records

Watch English Teacher perform six tracks from their debut album This Could Be Texas @ Jumbo Records in their hometown Leeds: "Post-punk can team up with art rock and New Wave to create something that defies pigeonholing. Their boldness is not just a pose, but very real, taking shit from nobody. The defying I'm Not Crying, You're Crying sums it quite nicely."

English Teacher: This Could Be Texas

photo: Denmarc Creary

Leeds based pop noir quartet English Teacher is always one step ahead rhythmically, making it a challenge to predict where they will go next. It makes their debut album This Could Be Texas special, proving that post-punk can team up with art rock and New Wave to create something that defies pigeonholing. Their boldness is not just a pose, but very real, taking shit from nobody. The defying I'm Not crying, You're Crying sums it quite nicely.

The title track takes a swipe at the wisdom of crowds, with a glorious jazzy piano part that will strike a chord with fans of Kate Bush. Lead singer Lily Fontaine can't get over the fact that her voice isn't suited for R&B, but it is actually a blessing in disguise, because her almost spoken word phrasing fits like a glove with the upfront bass, in-your-face drums and shimmering guitar.

English Teacher: R&B

Leeds based pop noir quartet English Teacher delve into bleak post-punk on their new single R&B. Lead singer Lily Fontaine can't get over the fact that her voice isn't suited for that particular genre, but it is actually a blessing in disguise, because her almost spoken word phrasing fits like a glove with the upfront bass, in-your-face drums and shimmering guitar. Anger is always a fertile base for creating a memorable tune and this one ticks all the boxes. It is a track from their debut album This Could Be Texas, due for release on April 12. The video was directed by Sarah Oglesby.

English Teacher: The World's Biggest Paving Slab

photo: Tatiana Pozuelo

Leeds based pop noir quartet English Teacher are sitting on the fence between art rock and new wave on their latest single, The World's Biggest Paving Slab. Having a bigger budget after being picked up Island Records did not get in the way of retaining their abrasive sound. They are still pulling no punches and point the fingers at the powers that be and making a case for appreciating the overlooked and ignored, as well as reading poetry.

Singer Lily Fontaine wrote it in 2018 in her final year of university. Moving to the city after growing up in a rural environment took its toll, but it sowed the seeds for their most ambitious effort to date. The video was made by Claryn Chong.

English Teacher: Song About Love

Leeds based pop noir quartet English Teacher are back with a new single, Song About Love. Pushed forward by a skewed rhythm section the song tells the tale of having a relationship in the midst of daily household chores. It is quite hard to get in romantic mood as the daily grind is taking precedence over passion. The song keeps building up to a crescendo with lead singer Lily Fontaine almost shouting the word "love" over and over again, as if she trying to hold off the unavoidable unhappy end. The animated video is a sendup of computer games like the Sims.

English Teacher: Polyawkward

photo: Tatiana Pozuelo

Leeds based pop noir quartet English Teacher have released their debut EP Polyawkward, singing about panic attacks in a supermarket Mental Maths, and driving up and down the North Wales Expressway (A55). They created a modern day love story with Good Grief, about a couple named Track and Trace, a couple trying to navigate through life in lockdown and its subsequent hassles, who are keeping tabs on each other and the outside world via the internet.

With their out-of-the-box rhythmical approach and lead singer's Lily Fontaine deadpan vocals, reaching a peak with the spoken word in Yorkshire Tapas, the band is a breath of fresh air in the post-punk niche. Title track Polyawkward even has some prog elements, proving that the quiet-loud-quiet scheme pioneered by the Pixies can be combined a bit of orchestral synths.

English Teacher: Mental Maths

photo: Tatiana Pozuelo

Leeds based pop noir quartet English Teacher are singing about having a kind of panic attack while shopping for groceries. Mental Maths deals with the anxiety that originated from having just too many options to choose from. It will be included on their forthcoming debut EP, Polyawkward, due for release on Nice Swan Records on April 22.

English Teacher: A55

photo: Rhiannon Kane

Leeds based pop noir quartet English Teacher wrote a tune about the North Wales Expressway. A55 is more than a simple roadtrip song though. The lyrics are rife with wordplay and the music itself takes unexpected turns as well. It will be included on their forthcoming debut EP, Polyawkward, due for release on Nice Swan Records on April 22.

English Teacher: Good Grief

photo: Holly Whitaker

Leeds based pop noir quartet English Teacher play off-kilter New Wave licks throughout their latest single, Good Grief, a throwback to the sound of bands like Television, XTC and The Flying Lizards. It is a love story about named Track and Trace, a couple trying to navigate through life in lockdown and its subsequent hassles, who are keeping tabs on each other and the outside world via the internet.

Lead singer Lily Fontaine can make sarcasm sounding like a good thing and she wrote this year's best opening line - "Bring out your dead, Make them a hashtag". It is the lead single from their forthcoming debut EP, due for release on Nice Swan Records on April 22 next year.