| The band tell us about the release of 'Earth-Sized Worlds' and try to agree on some favourites from the tour van. | 
Photo: Marieke Hulzinga | Words: Lloyd Bolton |
| | Another debut album we had been long looking forward to at Hard of Hearing was Mandrake Handshake's 'Earth-Sized Worlds'. The ten-piece bring together the freedom and fervour of psychedelic performance with a rhythmic order more closely associated with synthesisers and krautrock. Released in February, 'Earth-Sized Worlds' captures their absorbing, lysergic depth across nine epic tracks. Having spent the rest of the year touring the album, with a short break to reform as a one-off Stereolab covers band, it has been a hard-working twelve months for the London-via-Oxford cosmonauts. | | Tell us about your 2025 as a band. | | The Mandrake has never been so busy as in the year of 2025. When January's first suns shone, we were duty bound by the raging forces of music to deliver unto the human kingdom our debut album 'Earth-Sized Worlds'. A product of years and years of toil, thrust, and ritualistic blood-and-sweat sacrifices to the lords of 'The Industry', our saga was only beginning. 'Earth-Sized Worlds' took us to Bury, Bristol (x2) Brighton (x4) and to Berlin as well, under Berghain's shadow. It took us London for godly headline shows at No90 and Fabric, to Liverpool, and to Lincolnshire. We also cosplayed Stereolab for a night, for the George Tavern's Halloweek. We have had merriment, and we have also had regrets, but by Jove it all makes us stronger. | | What is your Album of the Year and why? | | Why pick one album of the year when we can have three? The New Eves' debut album, the First. Chanting from the mountain tops, redolent of a certain classical punk vintage yet modern and divine. A second. Those denizens of avant-pop Stereolab and did return with recording musics this year too and we bow before them. Lastly, the legends that are Bug Teeth released the most beautiful, beautiful exquisite record with 'Micrographia'. An essential listen with so much life. | | Could you pick one Song of the Year then? | | Why pick one song of the year, when more than one can be picked? Ever feasted your ears and tastebuds on Silver Gore's 'All The Good Men'? What melody! Such graceful countenance! To be replayed over and over! Also, some of our favourite men in the land, YAANG, released at last their krautrock opus 'Comfort'. We do remember hearing them perform it in the promised land of Manchester and thinking, "Hmmm, this is a good one. This is a bit of me." | | What is the best live show you've seen this year and why? | | One midsummer's night we fled to an abandoned airstrip in Northern Germany and slept all night in one giant tent together with eight camping beds, as the sounds of German techno pulsed 24/7, all through the night. It was a Fusion festival in Larz and were we glad to be abroad. After we played our show, Model/Actriz did tear the roofs of our mouth open and split open our guts and ravaged our sensibilities and fucked everything up, metaphorically speaking. It's rare that our whole band – or troupe – can enjoy a show together, such are the vacilliations of modern life, but, by Jove, that was a joyous part of our collective touring memory. | | What was your band highlight of the year? | | It's hard to say otherwise, but we released our debut album. We sold more than 'In Rainbows' by Radiohead on the week of it's deliverance. Which is delightful, as we also like 'In Rainbows'. We also just played in Rennes at Transmusicales to roughly 150 score inhabitants of Hall 8. It was scarcely believable. We'd also recorded in KEXP video session earlier that same day, which was scarcely believable. In Rennes they had these Sausages wrapped in plain Crepes, and just that. | | What is your favourite thing someone's said about your music this year? | | We were told it sounded like the Mos Eisley Cantina Band from Star Wars. Despite sharing basically none of their instrumentation. But some of us like Star Wars. We are lucky that everyone says we sound like something different, which we can only receive as complement. | | …and what is the strangest thing someone's said? | | Someone said we sounded like The Sundays, to which their friend (presumably partner), replied, "I fucking hate The Sundays". We were also told we sound like Talking Heads. | | What can we look forward to from you in 2026? | | We'll get back once we know. We know what we want, which is more of the music, and also go to Europe, more. | | Do you have a band New Year's Resolution? | | Have a good time, all the time, that's our philosophy. | | | | |
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