BACKSTORY: A four-piece rock band fronted by Lia Metcalfe that’s being hailed as one of 2022’s breakout acts on the strength of their critically adored debut album, Reeling
FROM: Born and raised in Liverpool, UK
YOU MIGHT KNOW THEM FROM: One of their ferocious, unfiltered rock anthems that have been championed by everyone from Paul Weller to Royal Blood
NOW: Preparing for their very first tour of America—see tour dates here
Rock music runs through Lia Metcalfe’s veins. Her dad was a rocker, she grew up at music festivals, and even had a run-in with Nick Cave as a toddler (he popped her balloon, but more about that later). For Metcalfe, forming a band wasn’t so much a choice as an inevitability, and she dutifully started piecing together The Mysterines in 2018. Their debut EP Take Control surfaced a year later, and the band started recording their first album, Reeling, in 2020—just as the world started shutting down.
Instead of being deterred by the global pandemic, the band funneled the collective uncertainty and anguish into their music. “There was nothing for us to do other than listen to the record and be with each other, because that was the only thing we could do,” Metcalfe remembers. “We went slightly insane, it became really personal for us and a big part of our life.” Unexpectedly, world events started seeping into their music. “The vitality that we wanted in society at that point, we tried to recreate in the record.”
Going into the studio, The Mysterines knew they wanted to craft an album that not only referenced, but also stood up to, their influences—namely Tom Waits, Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, The Velvet Underground, Patti Smith, and Queens of the Stone Age. Guiding them on that endeavor was producer Catherine Marks, who has credits ranging from Foals to Wolf Alice. “The record would not be how it is without her,” Metcalfe insists. “The way she uses her femininity as part of her creativity was a really big inspiration for me.”
“The album is just me trying to figure things out. Sometimes it’s aggression, sometimes it’s grief or heartbreak. It’s a whirlwind of everything that I’d been through up until that point in my life.”
The Mysterines frontwoman didn’t set out to work with a female producer, but she found the experience enlightening. “I’m constantly surrounded by boys, there are predominantly boys in the band. I'd never had another female there before. It's weird how much influence you can get from that and how much more confident you are.” Moving forward, Metcalfe intends to look for more female collaborators. “It wasn't an intentional thing,” she says. “But since working with her, I am a lot more intentional about choosing to work with women.”
The fruit of their labor, Reeling, is a jolt of loud, unapologetic rock ’n’ roll seemingly from another era. It’s the kind of record that invokes a myriad of involuntary emotional responses, which is exactly the point. “The album is just me trying to figure things out,” Metcalfe says. “Sometimes it's aggression, sometimes it's grief or heartbreak. It’s a whirlwind of everything that I'd been through up until that point in my life.” Recording the album was therapeutic as is performing it live: “Seeing other people connect to the songs is a big thing for me. It feels like I'm not just helping myself, but others.”
While darkness reigns on Reeling, there are flashes of levity. Like the brilliantly titled “Life’s a Bitch (But I Like It So Much),” which Metcalfe describes as a “very Northern mindset.” “I heard this guy in the pub one night talking about his wife,” she elaborates. “I eavesdropped because it was a really funny conversation, and he just turned to his friend and said, ‘My wife's a bitch, but I do like her so much.’ And I thought it was hilarious.” Metcalfe simply tweaked the comment and put it in a song. “It’s meant to be funny and it's meant to emulate freedom,” the frontwoman says. “Everything's been pretty shit for these past few years, but we're all back in the pub now.”
“Seeing other people connect to the songs is a big thing for me. It feels like I'm not just helping myself, but others.”
The state of the world not only influenced the creation of Reeling, but also its reception. “People want to be expressive and let everything out,” Metcalfe reasons. “Punk and rock music is the best thing for that because it takes no prisoners. It's raw and it's honest.” It’s also the genre that the Brit grew up with. “I was constantly surrounded by music as a kid and I wanted to do everything that my dad did. I never really thought about it, I always knew that I was going to be in a rock band because that’s where I feel the most comfortable.”
That takes us back to that Nick Cave anecdote. “I didn’t realize who Nick Cave was when I was that kid,” she remembers. “We were backstage at a festival that my dad [lead singer of ’00s band Sound of Guns] was playing. I had a balloon and Nick walked in and stamped on it.” It’s a funny memory that has become hazy with the passage of time. “He had the silhouette of a classic villain,” she laughs. “I have no idea if it actually was Nick Cave, but my dad is pretty certain it was him.”
“I didn’t realize who Nick Cave was when I was that kid. We were backstage at a festival that my dad was playing. I had a balloon and Nick walked in and stamped on it. He had the silhouette of a classic villain.”
While popping a child’s balloon is unlikely to be on the agenda, The Mysterines are excited to experience all that America has to offer when they arrive for their first US tour in May. “I've always wanted to go to America so much—all of my earliest influences are from the US,” Metcalfe says. The rocker is particularly excited to see how crowds respond. “I think people are going to be into it more,” she muses. “In the UK people can be quite standoffish. But I feel like the US, they just love music, especially rock music and heavier things.”
And when she’s not performing, Metcalfe hopes to get a little American culture. “I'm looking forward to traveling on American roads,” she says. “The roads in the UK are boring. It’s just gray and everyone's moaning about something, and it's raining.” Apart from that she’s keen to meet people, see the sights—the Chelsea Hotel is on her to-do list—and taste the local delicacies. “I've never had In-N-Out Burger,” she says, “or Wendy's.” FL
