It’s already been quite the year for the foursome: starting with the New Year’s Day release of the ‘Resolution’ single they curated a Pandamonium show at Dalston Victoria, recorded a session for John Kennedy on Radio X and saw ‘Resolution’ earn a Lamacq Livener slot, garner single of the week on his Roundtable show and then leap onto the BBC 6 Music playlist. On March 10th they released 'Be Kind' as a single, and a lovingly bittersweet assault of emotions and guitar glories it is too, as you can tell from the Clash premiere here: http://www.clashmusic.com/videos/premiere-desperate-journalist-be-kind

Such is intense life with Desperate Journalist, one of the most potent, important DIY bands lurking on the underground scene right now. If lead-off single ‘Hollow’ and the follow-up ‘Resolution’ capture a band working ever harder, faster, stronger then fittingly the ‘Grow Up’ album sees Desperate Journalist building on the sublimely tetchy mood swings of their 2014 self-titled debut and the tense interim ‘Good Luck’ EP by adding a fresh sonic sheen to their old school indie stroppings. Or, in the words of singer Jo…

“The album is, in fact, about growing up - the title came about as half a joke based on the strong emotions therein but it fits thematically due to the fact that each song is about figuring out what being an adult is supposed to mean. The cover image is a photo of me at the start of my (ongoing) phase of teenage angst so it seemed appropriate. I'm still not 100% sure what I'm supposed to be doing with myself now I'm over the age when it's considered excusable to be an emotional romantic nightmare and all the songs are borne of that anxiety. I don't have a LiveJournal any more so here's my heart and brain broadcasting live to anyone who'd care to listen.

“Musically we also wanted this to be a progression from our first record, which hopefully comes across. There's a lot more atmosphere on this album. We were thinking about arrangements and structures in a more (ugh) mature way this time round having figured a lot of stuff out via writing and recording the songs from our debut and then the EP. We're so proud of it and it's resulted in something we really feel is both more powerful and more refined. We're now a well-oiled cathartic tunes machine. Or something.”

This all means that Desperate Journalist sound meatier and bolder, yet are still infused with a keen pop sensibility which ensures that ‘Grow Up’ contains at least five possible singles. ‘Grow Up’ is available to pre-order on CD via www.fiercepanda.co.uk/shop.php?release=532 right now, while below you can also find details of an exclusive super-cheap CD / gig ticket bundle. Hold on tight…