Gucci Fall 2026 feels like a flashback forwards. The loud years made headlines. They also made money, the brand’s highest numbers, in fact. But Demna’s Gucci reads like a reset, a familiar one. At its most transformative, Gucci ran on clarity, and his study of ‘the Gucciness of Gucci’ implies he’s well aware, landing squarely in the Tom Ford era. Sexy was once simple, and simple rebuilt the balance sheet, which, as it turns out, is the sexiest thing of all, giving the brand room to scale into what it hadn’t yet become.
The show took place inside the darkened Palazzo delle Scintille, a former 1920s velodrome turned industrial arena, temporarily converted into something between a museum and a stage set. For the occasion, it was filled with plaster replicas of Uffizi statues, something like Gucci’s visual proof of its own ancestry. Renaissance bodies frozen in white, alongside Demi Moore, her alarmingly small dog, and Alessandro Michele, seated between Donatella Versace and Paris Hilton, watched a runway built on recalibration.
“Gucci is a brand, but it is also a shared cultural touchpoint that speaks to a wide variety of people, reflected in the range of archetypes, tastes, identities, and dress codes of Primavera: a palette of stylistic propositions for those the House already speaks to, and those I hope for it to speak to,” read the opening of the collection’s notes. The show opened with that same sense of palette cleansing, a seamless minidress in white hosiery fabric. Fluid tailoring, tracksuits, trousers that looked more like leggings, low-cut jackets, leather and lace, all followed.
The boys were all about T-shirts so tight you half-expected an artery to snap. Meanwhile, the girls could fund a small country with their sparkle. Amelia Gray in black, Emily Ratajkowski in silver, Alex Consani in gold, and Kate Moss in a backless dress that gave a good hint of her double-G G-string with 10-carats of diamonds. My personal favorite was six looks earlier, a high-collar, long-sleeve maxi embroidered in purple, green, and gold florals.
“Do you know what Gucci is? It’s not just a brand It’s a word we use to describe a certain state of mind. If you feel Gucci, it means you want to do stuff and be crazy and meet people and be, like, out there,” Demna’s 16-year-old cousin told him, Vogue shares. “I see Gucci as a person. Someone with a wild, unforgettable past and unmistakable codes. Someone fully aware of who they are. Yet restless, curious, hungry to evolve, to surprise, to be surprised, to challenge and to be challenged, to be respected, to be desired,” his show’s notes added, “It has become clear to me what my mission here really is. Above the product, Gucci is culture, it is a way of thinking and a way of being. Gucci needs to become a feeling. Gucci must become an adjective.” Seems like he got the memo, the slang too.
In this segment, we showcase the most notable albums out each week. Here are the albums out on March 6, 2026:
Harry Styles, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.
Harry Styles’ Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. has actually arrived. The follow-up to Harry’s House was executive produced by Kid Harpoon and features contributions from Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell and the Smile’s Tom Skinner, among many others. Mutedly paying homage to club culture, the album was previewed by the single ‘Aperture’, one of its more dynamic cuts. “The record for me is about how do I still have my experience while I’m playing it?” Styles told Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe. “And that was what making the record was about for me. It was like, what music do I have to make for me to be on stage feeling like I’m in the middle of the dance floor? And it’s not like I was in the dance floor. But now I’ve made it, I actually have to separate my life again.”
“The human times have come and gone, we must accept our rule is done,” Will Oldham sings on ‘Scary Horses’, a highlight from his new Bonnie “Prince” Billy album, making it sound like a balm. The richly rendered follow-up to last year’s The Purple Bird was recorded at End of an Ear Studios in Louisville with his current tour mates Jacob Duncan and Thomas Deakin, along with Ryder McNair, Chris Bush, Ned Oldham, and Erin Hill. “This record was made closer to the Ohio River than any I’ve been involved with since 1993’s Palace Brothers There Is No-One What Will Take Care of You,” Oldham commented. “Louisville’s current-and-past vital musical community is highlighted on every song. Catherine Irwin, who sang on the BPB release Ease Down the Road, is back here on “Hey Little” and ‘Vietnam Sunshine’. Lacey Guthrie, Tory Fisher and Katie Peabody, the three front women of the band Duchess, sing together on the opening and closing songs, parallel odes to the beast that is fear.”
waterbaby’s debut album, Memory Be a Blade, is one of hushed and precious intimacy. Out now via Sub Pop, it was written and recorded in the singer-songwriter’s hometown of Stockholm, the south of Sweden, and Los Angeles with primary collaborator Marcus White. Adding a dreamy lushness to the record are violinist Oliva Lundberg, cellists Filip Lundberg and Kristina Winiarski, saxophonist Sebastian Mattebo, trombonist Hannes Falk Junestav, and flutist Pelle Westlin. “I took the mic not knowing what I’m about to do,” waterbaby remarked, “and that’s become the most honest outlet in my life.”
Arctic Monkeys, Olivia Rodrigo, Damon Albarn, Fontaines D.C., Cameron Winter, the Last Dinner Party, and Big Thief are just a few of the artists appearing on HELP(2), the new War Child compilation helmed by James Ford. It arrives more than 30 years after the first, Brian Eno-cureated HELP album. “HELP(2) is more than an album,” Rich Clarke, Head of Music at War Child UK, said. “It’s a powerful example of what can happen when the music industry comes together around a shared purpose. It has united a diverse group of artists and creatives in support of War Child’s vital work with children affected by the devastating impacts of war. We are immensely grateful to all the artists and teams who have donated their voices, talent and time to support our mission to ensure that no child is caught up in conflict zones. We hope this record not only raises vital funds, but also awareness of the urgent need to turn compassion into action and do more to protect children living through war.”
Denzel Curry has a new crew, the Scythe, featuring Ferg, Bktherula, TiaCorine, and Key Nyata. Their fiery debut album, Strictly 4 the Scythe, marks the rapper’s first release since 2024’s King Of The Mischievous South, expanding his take on old-school regional rap (Memphis, Houston, Miami) while paying homage to the South’s musical legacy. “The Scythe is a family and a group,” Curry said in a statement. “We still have our respective solo careers but when we come together it’s The Scythe.”
Shabaka Hutchings has delivered the inaugural release on his new label Shabaka Records, Of the Earth. Inspired in part by D’Angelo’s Brown Sugar, the follow-up to 2024’s Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace is also marked by the Sons of Kemet and the Comet Is Coming alum’s transition from clarinet and saxophone to flute. “Brown Sugar was the first CD I bought and it sparked a lasting curiosity about the emotional possibilities allowed by the self produced and performed album,’ he explained. “This record is my celebration of freedom in creative self expression. Before the pandemic I could only play the clarinet and saxophone and knew nothing about music production (or how to play the flute), so this has been a journey of learning and a reflection on the music that’s been created as a result.”
VIAL keep amping up their sound with HELLHOUND, their latest record out on their own Trout Hole Records. Produced by Martin Cooke, the burnout follow-up retains the Minneapolis trio’s ferocious edge on singles like ‘CREEP SMOOTHIE’ while showcasing their theatrical tendencies, as on the closer ‘BLOOD RED’. It also features the previously released tracks ‘IDLE HANDS’ and ‘NEVER BEEN BETTER’.
Bory, Never Turns To Night; Mute Swan, Skin Slip; Yebba, Jean; Joshua Idehen, I Know You’re Hurting, Everyone Is Hurting, Everyone Is Trying, You Have Got To Try; Nova One, how to kiss; Murkage Dave, Brut Thoughts; Gnarls Barkley, Atlanta; Mary Middlefield, Will You Take Me As I Am?; Gum, Blue Gum Way; Fletina, Terrow; Book of Churches, Book of Churches; Bosse-de-Nage, Hidden Fires Burn Hottest; Cobrah, Torn; Squeeze, Trixies; Caterina Schembri, a birch forest seen, imagined, and remembered.
If you’re planning to pre-order Pokémon Pokopia, get ready to spoil Ditto a little. Like any major Pokémon release, you can grab a bunch of pre-order bonuses, from the Ditto Rug for your in-game home to exclusive plushes, tote bags, and other goodies depending on where you place your order. Co-developed by Game Freak and Koei Tecmo’s Omega Force, Pokémon Pokopia is a life simulation game for the Nintendo Switch 2 where you help a Ditto bring a lifeless world back to life by building habitats for different Pokémon, decorating spaces, and creating interactive environments.
Through crafting structures and tools, you can encourage Pokémon to settle in your world, teach Ditto new moves via interactions, and gradually expand and customize the surrounding environment. So, if you’re ready to jump in and start building, here are all Pokémon Pokopia pre-order bonuses and how you can grab them.
Pokémon Pokopia: Every Pre-Order Bonus Explained
Every pre-order of Pokémon Pokopia comes with an early purchase bonus Ditto Rug, an in-game decoration that lets you spruce up your Pokémon homes with a fun Ditto-themed flair. This bonus is available for both the physical and digital versions of the game and can be claimed through the Mystery Gift feature once you’ve played for around 30 minutes.
You’ll need your Nintendo Switch 2 connected to the internet and linked to a Nintendo Account; however, a paid Nintendo Switch Online subscription isn’t required. The Ditto Rug can also be earned through normal gameplay and must be redeemed by January 31, 2027. Beyond the Ditto Rug, different retailers are offering exclusive bonuses depending on where you pre-order.
Pokémon Center
Pre-ordering a physical copy of Pokémon Pokopia from the Pokémon Center website will give you the Ditto Sitting Cuties Plush, though availability is limited and items may be out of stock.
My Nintendo Store UK
Players in the UK can choose from a bundle on the My Nintendo Store, which includes a Ditto Reusable Mug, a Ditto Travel Bag, or a Pokopia Tote Bag, along with a digital copy of the game.
Amazon
If you pre-order from Amazon, you’ll receive the in-game flat-leaf plant decorative item, delivered via a download code sent by email. In Japan, Amazon pre-orders include both the flat-leaf plant and a wooden Ditto tray as an additional bonus.
Best Buy
If you grab a physical copy from Best Buy, you’ll receive a canvas tote bag featuring an illustration of the Kanto starters.
How to Claim Pokémon Pokopia Pre-Order Bonuses
Claiming Pokémon Pokopia pre-order bonuses is pretty easy. You can receive physical items either via home delivery or by picking them up at the store where you placed your order. On the other hand, in-game items can be claimed through the Mystery Gift feature, with the Ditto Rug claimed via the “Get via Internet” option and Amazon’s flat-leaf plant redeemed using the emailed download code.
Each bonus can only be claimed once, but no matter which store you choose, every pre-order comes with the Ditto Rug along with other goodies. And that does it for our Pokémon Pokopia pre-order bonus guide.
There’s so much music coming out all the time that it’s hard to keep track. On those days when the influx of new tracks is particularly overwhelming, we sift through the noise to bring you a curated list of the most interesting new releases (the best of which will be added to our Best New Songs playlist). Below, check out our track roundup for Thursday, March 5, 2026.
Cass McCombs and Chris Cohen – ‘Steel Reserve’ and ‘Ignis Fatuus, Hinkypunk, Sharkfins and Ambergris’
Cass McCombs and longtime collaborator Chris Cohen have teamed up for a two-song 7″ single. ‘Steel Reserve’ is laidback and searching, while ‘Ignis Fatuus, Hinkypunk, Sharkfins and Ambergris’ is almost as fun as saying its title. “Chris composed the music, and I did the words,” McCombs said in a statement. “Our longtime friend and mutual collaborator Trevor Shimizu drew the artwork. Chris has weaved throughout my music over the years — he played guitar on my first LP, A, as well as on ‘County Line’, he co-produced Interior Live Oak, and he is a remarkable musician and songwriter. Both songs are somewhat cracked meditations on dignity. ‘Steel Reserve’ explores the bushes, hidden away. Public life has nothing to offer dignity. ‘Ignis Fatuus’ is a pirate’s treasure collected from an Earth stained with blood and madness — stolen from W.B. Yeats.”
Cohen added: “Cass and I go back to early 2000s Bay Area. I’ve always thought he was an amazing songwriter so I was very happy when he sent me lyrics. I took it as a dare, as the words were tricky and the forms unusual ones for songs, but I followed them exactly as they were. The music is my reaction to the words as I understood them. Also Cass is a killer guitar player so I had him come in and put some classical guitar on top of ‘Steel Reserve’. We both harmonize and trade verses on ‘Ignis Fatuus’ so it is our first proper duet.”
Anne Hathaway – ‘Burial’
Anne Hathaway plays a pop star in A24’s upcoming film Mother Mary, and she performs the songs on its soundtrack that were co-written by Jack Antonoff and Charli XCX. Charli’s husband, the 1975’s George Daniel, also helped write and produce the new song ‘Burial’, which Hathaway sings in the trailer.
Rosa Walton – ‘Sorry Anyway’
A few months after Jenny Hollingworth released her debut solo album, the other half of Let’s Eat Grandma, Rosa Walton, has announced her own. Tell MeIt’s a Dream is led by the bright, soaring new single ‘Sorry Anyway’, which finds her singing, “If you want the lightning/ There’s gonna be thunderbolts and rain.” Walton explained: “This song is about not letting anyone hold you back, whether in a relationship or in chasing your ambitions. It’s about doing your own thing, embracing who you are, and not caring about fitting into boxes, and also trying to inspire others to have this attitude. We had fun making it – it’s the flippant, messiness that makes the song, and it was also the beginning of a new vocal style for me. I’m owning all parts of myself.”
Craig Wedren – ‘Nothing Bad’
Craig Wedren has announced The Dream Dreaming Deluxe, an expanded version of his 2024 album, due April 10 via his Tough Lover imprint. It features five unreleased tracks as well as 5-track acoustic EP. One of the bonus tracks, the whirring ‘Nothing Bad’, is out today. “In the spirit of telling a fuller (but never the whole) story – showing a little more leg, as it were – I’m sincerely excited to share The Dream Dreaming Deluxe,” W When I set out to make The Dream Dreaming,” Wedren shared. “I wanted to make a video for every song, collaborating with friends and directing/shooting/editing many of them myself. At a certain point, however, I just needed to put the thing out and move on, both creatively and life/work-wise, even though I’d only gotten about 3/4 of the way there with the visual side of things. With the deluxe release, I aim to finish the job and right all wrongs.”
Otracami – ‘Perfect Reach’
Otracami, the project of Brooklyn-based songwriter and composer Camila Ortiz, has shared a beautifully ornate single, ‘Perfect Reach’, from her upcoming album Runoff. “When it’s so dead of winter, things just need to play out in your head in a really full way,” Ortiz said of the song, which explores the feeling of being frozen in place. “Things feel so stuck that you start building out another dimension and playing things out there.”
Ronboy – ‘I Am Only Playing’
Julia Laws, the singer-songwriter and producer who records as Ronboy, has unveiled a cathartic new song called ‘I Am Only Playing’. She’s only been playing it live over recent tours, and she’ll have the chance to do so again on a run of dates supporting Matt Berninger. It’s taken from her forthcoming Get Rich EP. “I wanted to capture a parallel with the arc of the song and lyrics,” Ronboy said in a statement, “spinning and building into a sonic release of ‘I can’t keep my cool anymore.’”
Cowboy Hunters – ‘Shag Slags Not Flags’
Cowboy Hunters, the Glasgow-based outfit composed of Megan Pollock and Desmond Johnston, have released a wiry new single, ‘Shag Slags Not Flags, lifted from their forthcoming EP EPeepee. Here are some of its pretty funny lyrics: “Forty-three with a flag in her bio/ Said she hates blanks, but that is a typo/ The sexual frustration you could catch with your eyes closed / Lonely at night, so turn to a wino.”
Slow Crush – ‘Que Du Noir’ and ‘Hallowed’
Belgian shoegaze outfit Slow Crush have dropped two B-side singles from the sessions behind their album Thirst, ‘Que Du Noir’ and ‘Hallowed’. The first is especially striking. “”Que Du Noir’ is perhaps the darkest and most intense song we have ever written,” vocalist Isa Holliday remarked. “When it first took shape, I couldn’t make it through a single take without breaking down. Every time I sang the lyrics, I was overcome with emotion. It was born in Mykonos, Greece, during one of the warmest, most light drenchedweeks of my life. A striking contrast to the darkness it carries within.”
The Reds, Pinks and Purples – ‘Worthy of Love’
The Reds, Pinks and Purples have previewed their forthcoming LP Acknowledge Kindness with a lovely new song, ‘Worthy of Love’. “This album is probably about learning to live with your ghosts and trying to be alive in the present,” Glenn Donaldson commented. “There’s a certain kind of big sounding record I aspire to make, like California by American Music Club or 16-Lover’s Lane by The Go-Betweens, works that steer into the pain but become a transportational device for the listener.”
Our first Artist Spotlight of 2026 was with Jenny on Holiday, the solo project of Let’s Eat Grandma’s Jenny Hollingworth, around the release of her debut album Quicksand Heart. Her bandmate Rosa Walton sings backup on several of its songs, and in the interview, Hollingworth suggested she’d also contributed to Walton’s upcoming project, whose details have now been revealed. Tell MeIt’s a Dream will be released on June 5 via Transgressive Records, and its soaring first single, ‘Sorry Anyway’, is out today. Check it out below.
“The idea of doing a solo project was never about stepping away or doing something on my own for the sake of it”, Walton said in a press release. “It started as writing to process things and stay grounded, and it grew into something shaped by the people around me and the joy of making music together.”
About the new song, she added: “This song is about not letting anyone hold you back, whether in a relationship or in chasing your ambitions. It’s about doing your own thing, embracing who you are, and not caring about fitting into boxes, and also trying to inspire others to have this attitude. We had fun making it – it’s the flippant, messiness that makes the song, and it was also the beginning of a new vocal style for me. I’m owning all parts of myself.”
Walton co-produced Tell MeIt’s a Dream with David Wrench, who worked on the last two Let’s Eat Grandma records. (Hollingworth, on the other hand, enlisted Steph Marziano to produce Quicksand Heart.) It features contributions from guitarist John Victor, bassist Kam Khan, and drummer Elena Costa, while Hollingworth sings on ‘Prettier Things’.
“Tell Me It’s A Dream is about being ambitious and seeing enhanced beauty in the world,” Walton concluded. “It’s about striving for ultimate freedom. A lot of the attitude in these songs is about following your dreams – and that’s exactly what I intend to do.”
Tell Me It’s a Dream Cover Artwork:
Tell Me It’s a Dream Tracklist:
1. Heart To Heartbreak
2. Sorry Anyway
3. Taking The Roof Down
4. Wave Machine
5. When Will It All Reveal
6. Halfway Round The World
7. Prettier Things
8. July
9. Romance Is Dead On
As the UK finally begins to welcome sunnier weather, here are five art and photography exhibitions to seek out across London this March.
Julian Lombardi: The Global Carnival at Carl Kostyál (5 March – 29 March)
London-based painter Julian Lombardi presents a new body of work that pushes biomorphic abstraction into unstable psychological terrain. In The Global Carnival, fluid forms swell and mutate across luminous fields of colour, creating dreamlike environments where architecture, landscape and the body dissolve into one another. The exhibition reflects on the instability of contemporary life while proposing painting itself as a site of reflection and renewal.
Dreaming in Colour at Opera Gallery London (5 March – 6 April)
Bringing together more than twenty emerging artists from across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, Dreaming in Colour explores the pull of the dream as both subject and artistic method. Taking place over a century after the birth of Surrealism, the exhibition revisits the unconscious as a generative space for experimentation and imagination. The works range from expressive painting to multimedia installations, linked by their interest in colour as a language of psychology. Across the exhibition, dream imagery proves to be a way to think about memory and displacement, with artists using vibrant palettes and shifting forms to evoke states that are situated between reality and reverie.
Catherine Opie: To Be Seen at the National Portrait Gallery (5 Mar – 31 May)
American photographer Catherine Opie presents her first major museum exhibition in the UK, bringing together more than three decades of portraiture. Opie is known for documenting communities and subjects often overlooked by mainstream culture, including queer friends, performers, surfers and football players. The exhibition includes early works such as Being and Having (1991) alongside later portraits that examine themes of belonging and identity.
Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize at The Photography’s Gallery (6 March – 7 June)
One of the most significant awards in contemporary photography returns to London this spring. The annual prize highlights four shortlisted artists whose practices have made a major contribution to photography over the past year. Presented through an exhibition of the finalists’ work, the show offers a snapshot of the medium’s evolving possibilities, from documentary and conceptual photography to experimental image-making. Together, the projects demonstrate how artists continue to use the camera to reflect on politics, technology and social change.
David Hockney: A Year in Normandie and Some Other Thoughts About Painting at the Serpentine North (12 March – 23 August)
In this expansive exhibition, David Hockney reflects on the act of painting through one of his most ambitious recent works. At its centre is A Year in Normandie, a monumental frieze-like painting created on an iPad and later printed at a vast scale, capturing the changing seasons around the artist’s home in rural France. The exhibition offers a meditation on observation and time, revealing how the artist continues to reinvent the possibilities of painting well into his later career.
In Mother Mary, the upcoming A24 movie from director David Lowery, Anne Hathaway plays the titular pop star, and she also performs the original songs on the soundtrack. Those songs were co-written by Jack Antonoff and Charli XCX, and Charli’s husband, the 1975’s George Daniel, is also credited on the new song ‘Burial’. It’s a pretty generic piece of dance-pop that makes sense in the context of a “thrilling psychosexual pop opera.” Check it out below.
Mother Mary also stars Michaela Coel, Hunter Schafer, Kaia Gerber, and FKA twigs, the latter of whom also contributed original music for the film. It will be released in select theatres on April 17.
cootie catcher is a Toronto-based four-piece composed of Nolan Jakupovski (vocals, guitar), Sophia Chavez (vocals, synth, DJ controller), Anita Fowl (vocals, bass), and drummer Joseph Shemoun. The band’s co-vocalists, who also share songwriting duties, have known each other since high school, when they debuted a very formative version of cootie catcher at a talent show they almost seemed to have forgotten. It was really born as a recording project for Jakupovski and Chavez during the pandemic, with Chavez and another childhood friend joining when live shows were on the table. Shemoun stepped in as a touring drummer before becoming a permanent member, tasked with translating and often necessarily adjusting Jakupovski’s beats for the sake of playability. The restless rhythms in cootie catcher’s music – often characterized as “laptop twee,” though the title of a new song, ‘Puzzle Pop’, does a better job of encapsulating it – reflect their overall creative pace. Their exuberant, untamable new album, Something We All Got, arrives just a year after their last, Shy at first – it’s no surprise its distinct lyrical perspectives collide at the vulnerability of repeatedly putting yourself out there, expecting more than you’re bound to get. SWAG, though, deserves all the attention it can get.
We caught up with cootie catcher for the latest edition of our Artist Spotlight series to talk about the origins of the band, high school talent shows, feeding off each other’s writing, and more.
Do you remember having conversations about working together on music before forming cootie catcher?
Nolan Jakupovski: We just started writing a bunch. Aside from Joseph, we’ve all known each other for a very long time. We all knew we could be in a band, but we never really put it together until cootie catcher started. I think we were just bored, didn’t have a lot going on at the time. I was in a bunch of bands around COVID and wasn’t doing anything.
Anita Fowl: We were just always together through lockdown, and it just kind of happened. I have memories of us playing around with stuff in the basement on whatever gear you had — you did have some drums in there. There was a brief phase where Nolan was trying to teach me drums. That was fun.
NJ: I guess I played drums on a few cootie catcher songs. I forgot about that.
AF: It was just us using whatever we had down there in the parents’ basement.
Were you jamming at that point, or were you bringing songs to the table?
NJ: Definitely songs. Truth be told, we never really jam out that much. We discuss the song structures. [laughs]
AF: I don’t have a big musical background, so a lot of cootie catcher was me learning stuff. I remember I would have ideas for songs in my head, just melodies, and I would bring them to Nolan and be like, “What note is this?”
NJ: Yeah, that’s so strange to start with. There were a few songs at first that started with just a melody.
AF: Just singing. ‘starved 4 combo’ was like that. It was like reverse engineering.
Nolan, you mentioned you played in bands before. Was there something that made you feel like this could go in a different direction?
NJ: Yeah, because it wasn’t very serious. It was just for fun. Those early songs are definitely more naively put together than nowadays.
Even now, I sense an aversion to self-seriousness in your music, even as it takes itself seriously.
NJ: Yeah, we take having fun seriously. We take streamlining songs seriously. There’s not many moments where there’s not someone singing or something that’s not moving the song forward.
Was there a moment when that streamlining became more important to you?
NJ: Probably when we started playing live and I realized that a lot of the beats were impossible to play. They’re not on a grid, for example. I had to actually sit down and make this playable.
You said you’ve known each other for a long time. Were you in school together?
NJ: Yeah, high school. Our first drummer was also from school, and Joseph tagged along a few years ago.
You identify as an outsider in the first song of thenew album, ‘Loiter for the Love of It’, and I think that’s often a self-perception that dates back to those years. And you tend to gravitate to the same kind of people.
NJ: Yeah, I think we all were a little bit.
AF: [laughs] Yeah.
NJ: I was definitely friends with the weird kids.
Joseph Shemoun: I was a big nerd in high school.
NJ: We would have been friends, for sure. We would have been playing Pokémon.
Sophia Chavez: Me and Anita were art kids. We did some talent shows.
NJ: I was in a talent show.
AF: Oh yeah, you did one too. Sophia and I have known each other since grade 10. Music was a big thing that we bonded over. Now I’m going too much into lore, but Nolan was in a grade below, and I remember we knew he was in a band, and we were like, “Oh my god, someone in our school is in a band?” [laughs] We didn’t know anyone in a band.
NJ: We were the only one that at least played shows. We’re from Mississauga and we’d play shows in Toronto, so it was as legit as a high school band could’ve been.
JS: That’d be very cool if you’re in high school, for sure.
Does every school there have a talent show?
NJ: Every school does that, I feel like.
JS: I don’t know if we had that, but we had a battle of the bands.
NJ: That’s even crazier. That implies multiple bands.
JS: I remember there was one band that I liked that played a cover of ‘Working Man’ by Rush. My mind was blown.
NJ: Somewhere in grade 8 there’s me playing Stone Temple Pilots at a talent show. I know there’s one of Sophia playing Mac DeMarco?
JS: What song?
SC: Uhhh…
AF: It was ‘Let My Baby Stay’.
SC: Actually, I remember us three played in a band. Do you guys remember that?
AF: I think about that all the time.
SC: Me, Anita, and Nolan played one time for a talent show. It was called Carmelchella.
AF: Or was it Carmchella? Like Coachella, but our high school was Mount Carmel.
NJ: That was very nearly cootie catcher.
SC: It was. [laughs] We never actually talked about this in years.
AF: I recently was going through old photos, and I have some photos from that.
SC: Oh my god, I need that.
AF: I’ll send it. I didn’t know if you wanted to see.
NJ: It’s still the same microKORG, isn’t it?
SC: It is.
AF: We did ‘Chamber of Reflection’ for sure.
JS: Nice. I would have loved that.
That’s deep lore right there.
JS: It is. I never even heard that one.
What excited you the most going into the new record? What was that transitional period like?
NJ: The process for this record, the last record, and the next one, to be honest, has been pretty similar.
AF: I feel like with Shy at first to SWAG, the new record has even more of an amalgamation of our current lineup. That’s what made me excited for it, because it really does feel like us as a band.
NJ: We were writing this one while the last one was wrapping up. ‘Quarter Note Rock’, for example, could technically have been on Shy at first, it was around that time. Shy at first only came out this time a year ago, and we do pretty much have an album’s worth of new demos right now. We never stop. It’s just too fun.
Do you conceptualize or structure an album as a whole the same way you said you do for songs?
NJ: We don’t really do that. If it’s a good collection of songs, I think it’s a good collection of songs.
AF: I guess we’re not super conceptual in that way.
NJ: We’re not gonna drop a concept album.
AF: I love when other bands do that stuff, but for us, because it’s three different songwriters – I think naturally, multiple themes carry across all three of our works.
NJ: There’s always consistency.
Did your approach to bringing together the different perspectives change at all?
AF: I was just excited about having more voices on the album. Sophia has more songs.
SC: I think in Shy at first, I only shared songs with people, but in the new album, I have my own songs, which is cool.
AF: It’s cheesy, but I get inspired by what both of you guys write – I guess we feed off each other. It’s unspoken. I don’t think I changed my approach, but subconsciously, I’m hearing them write about stuff, and I’m like, “Me too.” [laughs]
NJ: There’s maybe more overlap in the verses. There’s probably more back-and-forth interaction with each other. Like on ‘Wrong Choice’ and ‘Pirouette’, there’s call-and-response.
Beyond the vocals, there’s also moments where the electronic beats and the drums overlap in a similar call-and-response way.
AF: I love that part in ‘Halifax’.
NJ: It was funny when we were first practicing how to do that. Whenever we would start, I was like, “So, there’s gonna be a space here, and it’s gonna go [emulates beat], and then you’re gonna have to answer that.” That’s a good example. I do like when they talk to each other like that.
Now that the album is about to be released, are you more conscious of the ways in which the songs are in conversation with each other thematically? ‘Rhymes with rest’ and ‘Take me for granted’ are both about commitment, for example, but there’s a tension between having and wanting it.
AF: It’s really interesting to hear someone say there’s a relationship between those songs, because there’s definitely–
SC: To be honest, I don’t even know the lyrics of ‘Rhymes with rest’. I can’t hear them.
AF: [laughs] Real. That’s another one that we haven’t played live much and we’re learning to. I feel like the overlap, if I’m thinking of the Venn diagram, is probably being vulnerable and asking for something. Laying it on the table.
‘Gingham Dress’ is both one of the most enjoyable songs on the album and one that sounds challenging to play – even vocally, there’s an added difficulty to it. What was it like getting it right?
SC: It’s interesting, because that song was hard to sing in the beginning, but it is the only song where I only sing and don’t play anything else because it is so hard. ‘Gingham Dress’ is like much of Something We All Got, but it’s different from other stuff we’ve written before in that sense; there isn’t any synth or DJ controller. It is angrier.
NJ: It’s a hard one to play, yeah. The drums, the bass.
AF: It’s the most “rock band.”
SC: That’s what I mean, yeah.
JS: That’s definitely the one I enjoy playing the most. I think the drums are really fun to play on that song. That, and ‘Pirouette’ and ‘Quarter Note Rock’.
AF: All the songs where it hits hard.
NJ: Yeah, we do think about how they’ll be live a lot more when we’re in the writing process. I guess that’s a big change. We kind of imagine: Will people dance to this?
JS: There’s more high energy. Even recording that, I feel like it was pretty fresh for everyone, so it was a bit difficult.
NJ: The turnover is quite quick. We try to at least play things a few times before we record them. On Shy at first there were songs we didn’t even play before recording them, but I think on this one we did practice all of them.
Joseph, what’s your approach to finding the right rhythm for a song, taking into account how all the other elements work together?
JS: I think it all starts with Nolan’s beat, playing around that. Usually, it’s just mimicking the snare and kick pattern as much as possible, adding more own flair and fills in, some cymbal work.
NJ: Not all of them have kicks and snares, though. And there’s definitely been times where we’ve brought something to practice, and I went and changed the beat according to that. In the chorus of ‘Rhymes with rest’, for example, in the chorus there’s a bar of three, and that was a change after the fact. I felt it always in four, and when we were playing it, Joseph kept making it a bar of three, and it felt really natural. So now this is the most prog part on the album.
JS: 3/4 is the best. I also feel like, a lot of the time, I play a little extra, and I have to remind myself not to go too crazy.
NJ: It’s crazy enough.
Tell me about getting Nate Amos to mix the album. It made sense to me as a fan of his work in Water from Your Eyes and This Is Lorelei that he would get the balance of electronic and acoustic instrumentation.
NJ: He was on a list of names of people we felt would understand the electronic and acoustic mix-wise. He really stood out because of his production more so than his songwriting.
AF: His songs are really different from ours.
NJ: Especially if you listen to Lily Koningsberg’s album that he recorded [CRY MFER], I was like, “How do I make the album sound like this?”
AF: Even though it does sound very different, I really liked what was the latest This Is Lorelei album at the time, Box for Buddy, Box for Star. I noticed there was a mix of electronic and acoustic.
NJ: We definitely asked him at the right time. I feel like he spiked in popularity as he was making our thing.
AF: We kind of got lucky. We asked him in person because he came to play in Toronto, and we cold approached him–
NJ: We were asked to open for them – we didn’t, but we went anyway. We asked him if he’d be into mixing, and he was like, “Yeah, of course.”
AF: When he sent it, we were like, “Yeah, that’s it.” We had heard some other mixes, but it was very clear he gets it.
I remember him telling me how busy he is when he was promoting that This Is Lorelei record, just trying to make time to balance those projects.
NJ: I actually can’t imagine how busy that guy is.
AF: I feel winded a lot, and we’re not even–
JS: Overwhelmed.
AF: For sure, sometimes.
Do you remember hearing the mix for the first time? Were you all together?
AF: We definitely would have been too excited to wait to be all together. We didn’t have a lot of notes, I remember.
NJ: A lot of people would do different things with the electronic and acoustic drums, and he definitely knows how to balance them. He balanced them the best right off the bat.
With the tour coming up, what’s something that excites you about spending that time together?
SC: We’ve already spent so much time together that we already know our dynamics. It’s definitely gonna be the coziest because we’re gonna have a nice van. Our friend John is driving us. It’s like we’re going on a road trip. We’re gonna eat all the fast food.
JS: Well, I don’t know about that.
SC: Uhh, we are. [laughter] Whether you like it or not.
NJ: I’m excited to poop in all the disgusting bathrooms.
JS: Oh, I’m not excited for that.
NJ: There’s definitely a lot of shows I’m specifically excited for. I’m excited to do SXSW for the first time.
JS: It’s going to be really fun.
NJ: Even if we weren’t playing, none of us have been to a lot of these cities.
JS: I’m also excited to see the difference from day one to the end in terms of playing. Montreal vs. the Toronto show at the end.
NJ: We’re gonna be changed people by that show.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
Something’s been happening in UK cities lately. Small, independent cafes and restaurants are popping up everywhere. And they’re not just places to eat. They’ve become spots where people gather, where creativity happens, and where communities form. They offer something the big chains just can’t match.
You know what I mean. That little coffee shop tucked away on a side street that you found by accident. The family-run restaurant where they change the menu based on what’s fresh that week. These places have become a real part of city life.
So why is this happening now? A lot of it’s about how we think about food these days. People are more curious. They want to try new places and appreciate the care that goes into them. Restaurant deals have helped too. When you can afford to try somewhere new without breaking the bank, you’re more likely to take a chance. It’s become less about treating yourself and more about exploring what’s around you.
Places with Character
Step into an independent cafe and you’ll notice the difference right away. These places have personality. They feel like the people who run them. You might see old furniture they’ve restored, art from someone local, or menus written on chalkboards. All those little touches matter. They make you feel something before you’ve even ordered.
It’s not just about looks either. Good independent places think about comfort. They want you to relax and enjoy yourself. The lighting’s right. It’s not too loud. The chairs are actually comfortable. Everything’s set up so you can have a proper conversation without feeling like you need to hurry up and leave. Chain restaurants? They’re designed to get people in and out quickly. It’s a totally different vibe.
Food That’s Actually Interesting
This is where independent places really stand out. The chefs can do what they want. They’re not following some corporate recipe book. They play around with what’s in season, what’s grown nearby, flavours from different parts of the world. You end up with dishes that surprise you in a good way. And because they’re always trying new things, there’s always something different to try when you come back.
Restaurant deals make it easier to be adventurous. When you’re getting a good price, you’re more willing to order something you’ve never heard of before. It means you’re supporting local chefs and getting to know the food scene better. Everyone wins.
Building Real Connections
Here’s maybe the best part about independent restaurants. They bring people together. These aren’t just places where you show up, eat, and leave. Many of them host events. Cooking classes. Wine tastings. Quiz nights. They create reasons for people to connect beyond just having a meal. You start recognizing the staff. You chat with other regulars. Going out to eat becomes social in a way that feels genuine.
This whole movement has had a knock-on effect too. As these places get more popular, they push everyone to do better. Standards go up. More restaurants focus on getting ingredients locally and thinking about sustainability. Farmers’ markets have more customers. Small producers find people who care about what they make. It’s all connected.
It’s Not Easy Though
Let’s be real. Running an independent restaurant is tough. Rent keeps going up. It’s hard to find people to work. Getting supplies can be unpredictable. The big chains have money to fall back on when things get tight. Small places don’t. The ones that survive are tough and creative. They figure out ways to keep customers coming back while staying true to what makes them special.
We can help as customers. Eat out on a Tuesday instead of Saturday when it’s packed. Go with friends and split a few dishes. Check out places in quieter areas. Small choices like these actually make a difference. It turns a meal out into something more meaningful than just spending money.
Every Neighbourhood Tells a Story
Independent cafes and restaurants give neighbourhoods their own flavour. Each area develops its own feel based on the places people support. Cool spots appear in unexpected places. Converted warehouses. Old market buildings. Quiet residential streets. They show off what makes each part of the city unique. Going out to eat becomes about discovering your city, seeing it from different angles.
This changes how people spend their time. Maybe you’re going to see some art, catch a band, or just wandering around on the weekend. Grabbing food becomes part of the whole experience. Things like restaurant deals help because cost isn’t this big barrier anymore. You can explore and socialize without stressing about your budget. Cities end up feeling more alive, more connected.
What’s Next
This trend isn’t going anywhere. People in cities want the real thing now. They want creativity and community, not just convenience. The places that do well will be the ones that get it right: nice spaces, interesting food, and real connection with the people around them.
For the rest of us who like eating out, this is great news. It changes what going to a restaurant can be. It’s not just about filling up. It’s an experience. It’s culture. As more people figure this out and find these places, cities become better, more creative, more social. That’s something worth getting excited about.
You can technically skip all Blood Specimens in Resident Evil Requiem, but collecting them all will give Grace access to powerful injectors, stronger ammo, and permanent upgrades that will help her fight tougher enemies and stay alive in the Care Center. Blood Specimens are optional collectibles hidden throughout the Care Center, and each one unlocks crafting recipes that significantly expand Grace’s arsenal.
There are all sorts of handy upgrades to collect, from Hemolytic Injectors that instantly take out unaware enemies to Steroids and Stabilizers that permanently boost Grace’s stats, and collecting and analysing all three Blood Specimens in Resident Evil Requiem will fully unlock Grace’s crafting potential. So to make sure you don’t miss a single upgrade, here’s where you can find all the Blood Specimens in Resident Evil Requiem.
Resident Evil Requiem: Where to Find Every Blood Specimen in the Care Center
There are three Blood Specimens in the Care Center of Resident Evil Requiem, and each one unlocks crafting recipes that give Grace permanent upgrades, letting her deal more damage, heal faster, and make the most of every encounter. The first blood specimen, the Denatured Blood Specimen, is in the Blood Lab in the East Wing. You reach the lab during Grace’s first visit to the wing, where you can pick up the Blood Collector on the desk just inside.
The Denatured Blood Specimen can be found next to the blood analysis machine, and you’ll need to solve a simple mini-puzzle. To solve the puzzle, simply press the middle cube node to activate all connected atoms and that will do the trick. Analyzing this specimen will allow Grace to craft Handgun Ammo for both her pistols and Hemolytic Injectors, which can instantly kill unaware enemies and prevent corpses from transforming into Blister Heads.
The second specimen, the Reversible Blood Specimen, is also in the Blood Lab, inside a storage room that requires a Level 1 ID Wristband to access. After retrieving the Level 1 ID Wristband on the Care Center’s second floor, return to the lab and unlock the storage room. Inside, you will find the Blood Specimen along with an Empty Injector, some metal scraps, and a green herb. The analysis mini-puzzle takes four steps.
Start by pressing the center cube, then press the center cube of the three cubes below it, and finally activate the two remaining corner cubes. Completing this will unlock Steroids for permanent health boosts and Stabilizers to increase damage.
The third specimen, the Converged Blood Specimen, is located in the East Wing Waiting Room, inside a closet. To reach it, you’ll need to take down a zombie cleaner and a noise-sensitive zombie patient guarding the area. Once inside the closet, you’ll find the Blood Specimen along with Handgun Ammo, 12.7x55mm Ammo, and some scrap.
To analyze this specimen, first press the middle cube in the initial three-cube setup, then activate the center cube of the resulting four-cube formation. This will unlock Med Injectors and 12.7x55mm Ammo for crafting.
There’s also a fourth Blood Specimen to find on Insanity difficulty. This specimen lets Grace craft the R.I.P. Knife, exclusive to this mode, and gives a large batch of Handgun Ammo. You can skip it if you want, but grabbing it can make fighting Insanity’s tougher enemies much easier. And that does it for our Blood Specimen locations in Resident Evil Requiem guide.
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