Desperate Journalist

The post-punk quartet Desperate Journalist, based in London, came together in 2012. Earlier, bassist Simon Drowner and guitarist Rob Hardy had shared time in the Drowners before enlisting vocalist Jo Bevan and drummer Caz Hellbent to launch the new venture. Their opening performance occurred in Finsbury Park, after which they independently issued the EP Christina in 2013. Fierce Panda, the London independent imprint, soon added the band to its roster. Ahead of the debut album’s arrival, the label released the singles “Organ” and “Happening.” The self-titled full-length appeared in 2014, highlighting the group’s distinct identity while also nodding to the Cure, the Smiths, and Cocteau Twins. The next year the four-piece balanced headline dates at the 100 Club and a European tour with the recording and release of the EP Good Luck. Two years afterward they delivered the follow-up album Grow Up, which sharpened the earlier record’s approach, then issued the You Get Used to It EP assembled from the same sessions.