Are you paying attention at the back? Whenever a music scene erupts – and it rarely does these days – it’s followed by the inevitable slew of copycats. With the breakout British bands of recent years, much of that hype has orbited south London. But English Teacher are reorienting northward, with smart songwriting that feels fresh. The four-piece met at Leeds Conservatoire, played their first gigs in 2020, and are about to release their promising debut album, This Could Be Texas, on the same major label as the Last Dinner Party.
Sure, they may have the suitably arch band name, wiry melodies and wry song titles (Sideboob, The Best Tears of Your Life) that are mandatory among post-punkers, but equally, English Teacher are attempting to create their own lane. Their music encompasses collegiate emo-rock, dreampop and psychedelia, and they contrast the landscape of the north with social, economic and political observations – as on terrific breakthrough track The World’s Biggest Paving Slab.
