Desperate Journalist are an English, London-based

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...

band, formed in 2012. They released their debut album, the self-titled '' Desperate Journalist'', in 2014, on

Fierce Panda Records Fierce Panda Records is a London-based independent record label, with its first release in February 1994. It also produced a small number of releases that year by now famous artists such as Ash, The Bluetones, Baby Bird and Supergrass. Fierc ...

. A second album, '' Grow Up'', was released in March 2017. The band's third album, ''

In Search of the Miraculous ''In Search of the Miraculous: Fragments of an Unknown Teaching'' is a 1949 book by Russian philosopher P. D. Ouspensky which recounts his meeting and subsequent association with George Gurdjieff. According to Sophia Wellbeloved, the book is ge ...

'', was released in February 2019. A fourth album, '' Maximum Sorrow!'', was released on 2 July 2021

Biography

The band was formed in North London in 2012, by Jo Bevan (vocals), Rob Hardy (guitar), Simon Drowner (bass) and Caroline Helbert (drums). Hardy and Drowner had previously played together in Birmingham-based band The Drowners; Drowner had then later played bass in Bevan's previous band If.... Helbert joined the band as drummer, having "never really played before". They wrote their first song, "Kitten", at their first rehearsal. The band's name derives from

The Cure The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...

rarity, " Desperate Journalist in Ongoing Meaningful Review Situation". The band played their first gig in February 2013 at the Silver Bullet in Finsbury Park. After self-releasing debut EP ''Cristina'' they were quickly signed by Fierce Panda, who released "Organ" and "Happening" as singles, leading to their debut album, '' Desperate Journalist'', in November 2014, which was recorded at

Dean Street Studios Dean Street Studios is a commercial recording studio located at 59 Dean Street, Soho, London, England. History The premises are first known to have been used as a film studio in 1950s, which then became Zodiac Studios. The studio was bought by ...

with

Keith TOTP Keith Top of the Pops & His Minor UK Indie Celebrity All-Star Backing Band is a London-based indie rock band led by singer-songwriter Keith Top of the Pops (born Keith Mahony). The band was formed at an Art Brut gig in New York City in 2006, aft ...

. The Quietus, reviewing their debut album, described them as "beautiful and spellbinding"; Drowned in Sound said that they had "effortless grace" and praised Bevan's vocals. The band toured the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to support the release of the album, including an appearance at

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

. In 2015 the band played

indietracks Indietracks was an annual indie pop music festival at the Midland Railway in Butterley, Derbyshire, UK. The main site was located at Swanwick Junction. Bands played in variety of locations, including a restored church, in a train shed, and on ...

, headlined the 100 Club, and released a new EP, ''Good Luck''. In 2016, they toured Europe in the spring, and supported Chameleons Vox on a UK tour in August, as well as recording a second album. The second album, '' Grow Up'', was released in March 2017, backed by a headline tour of the UK and Germany, including a date at the Scala. The first single, "Hollow", was released in October 2016, with an official

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

following in November. It was reviewed well by Stereogum, and was picked out as Song of the Day by

KEXP KEXP-FM (90.3 MHz) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington, United States, specializing in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys for the Seattle metropolitan area. The station is owned by the no ...

. The second single, "Resolution", about New Year's Eve parties, was released on 1 January 2017 and has been playlisted by

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

. A music video was released on 27 January. A third single, "Be Kind", was released in March 2017, two weeks before the album. It was playlisted by

Virgin Radio UK Virgin Radio UK is a national Hot Adult Contemporary radio station in the United Kingdom that launched on 30 March 2016, owned by Wireless Group which is itself a subsidiary of News Corp. It is the second incarnation of Virgin Radio in the UK: t ...

. The fourth and final single, "Why Are You So Boring?", a 'protest song about tossers' was released in June 2017. The band toured throughout 2017 making summer festival appearances at

Wave-Gotik-Treffen The Wave-Gotik-Treffen (WGT; ) is an annual world festival for "dark" music and "dark culture" in Leipzig, Germany. 150+ bands and artists from various backgrounds ( gothic rock, gothic metal, EBM, industrial, noise, darkwave, neo-folk, ne ...

Tramlines The Tramlines Festival is an annual music festival held in Sheffield, UK. The festival was originally free to attend, but now requires tickets. The line-up consists of national and local artists. The festival was curated and organised by a pan ...

, and Benicàssim, and supporting the Slow Readers Club on tour in November. The band released a new single, "It Gets Better" in January 2018, from forthcoming EP ''You Get Used To It'', whose release coincided with a German tour in April 2018. In November 2018 the band released "Cedars", the first single of a third album, ''In Search of the Miraculous'', for release in February 2019. From November 2018 they are joined by Charley Stone as a live guitarist. On 2 April 2021 Desperate Journalist released "Fear" and announced their 4th studio album, ''Maximum Sorrow!'', due on 2 July 2021.

Members

* Jo Bevan – vocals * Simon Drowner – bass guitar * Rob Hardy – guitar * Caroline "Caz" Helbert – drums ; Live members * Charley Stone – guitar (2018–)

Discography

Albums

*'' Desperate Journalist'' album (November 2014) *'' Grow Up'' album (March 2017) *''

'' (February 2019) *'' Maximum Sorrow!'' (July 2021)

Singles and EPs

*''Cristina'' EP ristina/Mistakes/Kitten/Wait(June 2013) *"Organ" Ds b/w "Distance"(November 2013) *"Happening" DS b/w "Vengeance"(May 2014) *"Hesitate" Ds b/w "Happening (Medium Wave remix)"/"The Fire"(June 2015) *''Good Luck'' EP ood Luck/Leave Home/A Phase/Paint Something/Perfect Health(October 2015) *"Hollow" Ds b/w "Hollow (Medium Wave remix)"(October 2016) *"Resolution" Ds b/w "Bruce"(January 2017) *"Be Kind" (March 2017) *"Why Are You So Boring" Ds b/w ""Be Kind" and "Your Genius" (Pop10.de acoustic sessions)(June 2017) *"It Gets Better" (January 2018) *''You Get Used To It'' EP ncandescent/It Gets Better/Nothing Happens/About You/The Bomb(April 2018) *"Cedars" (November 2018)

References

{{Authority control Post-punk revival music groups English indie rock groups Musical groups established in 2012 2012 establishments in England Musical groups from London Fierce Panda Records artists