The Night Café – Turn
“The Night Café has a big reputation in Liverpool. They’re already on this site – I saw Connor James had done The Night Café already. For me, I used to be in bands all the time playing guitar and stuff and when that didn’t really work out, that’s around the time I started getting into The Night Café. Though not going anymore, they’re completely independent and they’ve done so well for themselves without any backing from record labels. When I found that out I was like ‘you know what there’s potential here’. You have this idea when you’re growing up that music is just a pipe dream, or everyone tells you it is anyway, as in to be a performing artist and actually make a substantial income from it. My parents would be like ‘oh no choose a proper job, be an accountant’.”
“So they are the main band that made me want to start doing my own stuff, made me think that it was possible and then that song [Turn], I don’t know what it is about it, it’s just very nostalgic I guess.”
“I think when I started listening to them, that song anyway, I was in a particularly dark place. It was maybe, 2017, I tried to get out for walks and that song really helped – I just can’t put my finger on why. I started writing my own stuff then, although I think it wasn’t till 2022 that I started properly investing in my solo stuff. I think I’ve always written my own stuff but I didn’t think I could show it off, I thought ‘oh it’s terrible’ if you know what I mean. It was like bedroom covers and I was in college then. I would bring the songs to college but at the time didn’t have a band or anything. Then 2021/ 22 I got my own band together and started taking it really seriously. I normally always play now full band, because I’m indie rock I don’t think solo acoustic sessions give the same energy.”
“I’ve stopped gigging for a while, had my comeback gig last month, in E.B.G.B.S, pretty standard like The Shipping Forecast, Jacaranda there’s a lot of great venues in Liverpool. It’s sad to see some close. In terms of Liverpool bands to catch, I feel like the Liverpool scene has gotten pretty heavy with bands like Stone, Crawlers. – I do really like Stone. My all-time favourite Liverpool band though – why they’re on the list, would be The Night Café. But you know, Sean passed away unfortunately.”
“I’ve met them through mutual friends, the rest of the lads are working on new stuff, they’re still jamming. It would be cool to see what they come back with. I feel like Liverpool is such a small city. That’s kind of mad. I got introduced to them a couple of weeks ago and obviously I’ve been listening to them since I was a teenager. But it’s kind of like when you meet these people, even if you’re a big fan of them you just kind of have to be friendly, you can’t freak out or anything. It’s really weird because I still respect them a lot as a band but I’m like ‘oh they’re kind of friends now’ it’s really strange. But you find that with a lot of people in Liverpool.”
Maggie Lindemann – Scissorhands
“The production on that album is absolutely incredible. The heavier side of alternative – you don’t see a lot of female artists doing it. You’ve got Paramore, Hayley Williams, she does her solo stuff as well but in terms of the kind of Paramore full band vibe, there’s not much. Maggie Lindemann is one of the only female solo artists I listen to who is heavier. When I heard that song I was like ‘yeah this is incredible’. I love listening to that sort of heavier stuff like Bring Me the Horizon, though they’re not too heavy anymore, but it feels like such a male-dominated environment.”
“So Maggie Lindemann, that really inspired me. I don’t remember how I got introduced to her, I think maybe it was on someone’s story I followed so I gave it a listen and was like ‘this is banging’. This was the first track that she released off her heavier albums, before that she was doing really pop stuff, not really my vibe, but I respect her for switching up like that. That shift was really effective, it made everyone go ‘woah who is this’ even though she’d been doing music for years. It was nice to see a female making a statement.”
Catfish and the Bottlemen – Fallout
“Another band with a big Liverpool following [from Llandudno in Wales]. I remember when they played at Sefton Park. I think Catfish are one of my favourite bands generally. Slightly less so now they’ve rebranded. I’m not too sure what’s going on with them, I’m not sure if they’re even a band anymore.”
“That song [Fallout] is off their first album I think. I struggle with BPD and that song especially, the lyrics, he’s pushing someone away but he actually really needs them. That resonated with me a lot so that’s why I chose that song specifically. The entire album is great though. All three albums they’ve had out are pretty decent but there’s often something about the more albums people put out generally they get worse. Catfish have kind of been the same the whole way through but maybe slightly less better each time.”
“I’m still trying to figure out what my sound is specifically. On my current set list for gigs I have songs ranging from pretty heavy punk stuff to indie pop and obviously if you put that all on an album it’s not going to sit well together so I’m experimenting. The tracks I have released officially are all pretty indie rock, indie pop. So I guess I’m just kind of going with that more. I would love to do albums by genre, like an EP that is indie rock, then the next one is a bit more heavy, punk.”
“My production isn’t that good to do it on my own, I record with my friend Sam who has Soundback Studios but he also works in Motor Museum.”
We move on to the tracks that nearly made it
“I don’t know if you’re on to Bad Nerves, a modern garage rock band, very Strokes-y, they supported Nothing but Thieves on their last tour. They nearly made it because I don’t think enough people know about them, especially in Liverpool. There’s a self-titled album they’ve got – non-stop, feel-good rammers, insane! The tempo of the songs is so high I don’t know how the drummer does it. It’s like he’s having a fit every time he plays the drums. I saw them support Nothing but Thieves, that gig I went to was in Leeds, an outdoor gig, but the crowd was so dead. For Bad Nerves as well they just bring this huge energy and I was like this is atrocious. Something about their music I just love, it’s long drives on sunny days with the windows down kind of vibe.”
“Pixey is great (she’s a mutual friend as well). You kind of have links to everyone in Liverpool which is quite cool. Meeting new people you have people in common already. Everyone is often quite supportive of each other, enjoying each other’s music.”
“Outside of Liverpool, that Strokes album, Is This It, that’s an incredible album. I’ve got a few Strokes vinyls. I might get those out and listen to them. I like the physical stuff more, the income you get as an artist from streaming is nothing. So if there’s a band I really like I’ll just buy the vinyl. You’re gonna see more money for what you’ve done, for the work you’ve put in. It’s an easy way to support them.”
“I would love one day to have my own, but the cost of vinyl specifically is so high so if you’re not sure you have the demand for it then there’s no point really getting it. But hopefully, I’ll build up to that one day, to that demand. Even little cassette tapes, a few bands are bringing those back, that’s quite cool.”
Interview by : Dave Sparks | First published 8th April 2025.
Catch more of Sophie Li at https://www.sophieli.co.uk/ or on twitter @sophiellii , Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ssophiellii or Instagram @sophiellii.
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