The band, who have been known in the past to take delight in the absurd, combine glam and prog rock to create a chaotic 40-minute epic. Inside the belly of the worm, England has evolved into a feudal system ruled by “the Devertebrates” – lords who have removed their spines to honour the great beast. Henry Spychalski, the lead singer of the ensemble, transforms himself into the heroic leader of the counter-resistant group called “the Grunters” who attempt to escape from the creature.

The frontman explained: “The Worm here is both a metaphor for capitalist greed, and the embodiment of a whole generation’s anxiety, dread and fear in the face of ever-looming apocalypse and world-ending natural disasters”. A manifesto further explaining the great mythical lore behind the album is also available to purchase alongside a physical copy here.

Music videos for “The End Is Now”, “Wyrmland”, and “The Worm” have brought to life the nightmarish England all directed by Spychalski.

Watch the video for “The End Is Now” below:

HMLTD started off as Happy Meal Ltd. in London in 2015. However, the band didn’t release their debut EP, Hate Music Last Time Delete, until 2018, and their debut album, West of Eden, until 2020. Having signed to the major label Sony in 2017, the band were dropped after inconsolable disagreements between the label and the band on their image and direction. Their first and second albums have been released through the London-based independent label Lucky Number.

Back in 2017, the flamboyant band, who often play with gendered dress codes, came under fire for what some perceived as queer baiting. “We’re trying to challenge toxic masculinity and we’re doing that from the perspective we can do that from, as the human beings we were born into being, which is predominantly straight cis men,” lead singer Henry Spychalski told DIY Magazine. “But I don’t think having that role should exclude or prohibit you from taking on that political perspective and from taking on what is probably the most violent, toxic, cruel force in our society. We’re learning from queer methods and we always try to express that indebtedness”.

The theatrical band is sure to put on a show during their two consecutive dates at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London this May. They will also be taking the stage at End of the Road Festival this summer. For tickets see here.

For HMTLD’s UK dates see below:

18/05/23 – Institute of Contemporary Arts – London
19/05 – Institute of Contemporary Arts – London
31/08 – End of the Road Festival – Salisbury

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Speaking recently with The Guardian’s Rachel Aroesti, Morris described the new album as a “Rose tinted” view of the north as a friendly “Mary Poppins-esque” universe. It springs from a yearning for the transparency of her childhood origins in the busy and often confounding London life she’s now grown into. Living in Primrose Hill with her partner Benjamin Garret (popularly known by his artist/producer name “Fryars”) in an impossibly cool house they designed together, her new life is at quite an odds with her humble Blackpool beginnings. The sense of longing is most keenly felt on “Running Shoes” where “the blueberries grow, And the internet’s slow“, where “the animals graze on the hillside for days“. It’s a touching serenade to the colloquial Britain she misses and sometimes romanticises about returning to, especially at the thought her newly born daughter might end up with a posh southern accent “I think she’ll sound like she’s from Primrose Hill, and I’ll just have to deal with it“.

Her new album is also inspired by difficulty. Signing to a major label at just 19, Rae has been in the game far longer than her 29 years suggest. Competing with the likes of label buddies Ed Sheeran and Clean Bandit was naturally a tall order and likely a toxic environment to be dropped in so young. 2 albums later, like so many signed to huge and unobtainable standards, she was dropped, with Rachel@Fairyland her first new record since the split. It’s a time she reflects on critically now, evaluating the bizarre and inappropriate ways older male label execs would try and guide her career, she tells Rachel Aroesti “Not in any other area of your life would someone say: ‘You’ve got a really great smile, you should put that out there more. I wonder if you wear a crop top whether that would help?“.

Out the other side of it now, with a brilliant and empowering new album on the way, Rae seems to have channelled this adversity into the best work she’s made so far. You can catch her at any of the UK shows below and grab your tickets here.