When I first listened to English Teacher’s 2024 album This Could Be Texas, I was on a train and I had never heard of them before. They were not on my radar, I was checking what was coming out on that friday and I must say I have a certain fascination for unconventional titles and cover arts. It didn’t take more than a couple of songs to be totally hooked. This Could Be Texas, produced by Marta Salogni, is an album for every taste: it’s honest, energetic but introspective, it’s quirky and light. It would be too easy to classify them as a post-punk act, their sound envelopes influences from the likes of Radiohead, Black Country New Road, and vocal lines that are somewhat Regina Spektor-esque.
English Teacher are a quartet from Leeds and it consists of Lily Fontaine (vocals, rhythm guitar, synth and piano), Lewis Withing (lead guitar, synth), Douglas Frost (drums, piano, synth and backing vocals) and Nicholas Eden (bass). They have been touring extensively through UK, Europe and the US in support of their debut album with appearances at most major festival events this summer including an iconic set at Glastonbury. Their UK + Ireland tour kicks off tonight in Dublin where they are playing the gorgeous Olympia Theatre and are supported by the Limerick-based band Theatre. The band played a long set presenting their folk/rock embellished by ethereal shoegaze-y guitar melodies and angelic vocal lines. Fans of Lankum, Just Mustard or even The Cure and My Bloody Valentine should definitely keep an eye on them!
The IE/UK tour comes as a wrap up of their European and American tours in order to promote their 2024 Mercury Prize winner album This Could Be Texas. For their autumn tour, English Teacher reshuffled the setlist with respect to their summer sets. The title track “This Could Be Texas” was pushed down the setlist to favour “Albert Road,” which they used to close their sets with. “R&B” and then to “Broken Biscuits” through the instrumental outro of “Yorkshire Tapas.” As the night picked up momentum, the band swerved towards more atmospheric songs: “Albatross” and a new song by the title “This Is A Good Age.” The Leeds quartet showed incredible versatility going from the heavily distorted “R&B” to the melancholic and contemplative elegance of “Mastermind Specialism” setting up the perfect decrescendo.
The evening progressed with more tracks off their debut album including the title track, “Toothpick,” and “Sideboob.” I was pleasantly surprised to see two of my favourite tracks that are rarely on the setlist: “Not Everybody Gets To Go To Space” and “The Best Tears of Your Life,” which also saw the debut of a new vocal pedal for it to be as similar as the recorded version as possible.
A short break was necessary to escort an attendee who was feeling unwell out just before finishing off the set with the most energetic songs in their catalogue: “I’m Not Crying You’re Crying,” “The World’s Biggest Paving Slab” [treat yourselves to their live perfomance of this song on Later… with Jools Holland] and “Nearly Daffodils.” The band played just over one hour of incredible music in the 3Olympia, taking the crowd through all sorts of emotions in a soundscape that is unique to English Teacher.
The UK leg of this tour starts on the 12th of November in Bristol and continues through Nottingham (13/11), Sheffield (15/11), Newcastle (18/11), Glasgow (19/11), Manchester (20/11), their hometown Leeds (22/11) and Brighton (24/11). The tour ends with two shows at the Roundhouse in London (25-26/11) the second of which is already sold out.
GALLERY: English Teacher with Theatre at 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin, Ireland (November 8, 2025)
