Biography
Hailing from Liverpool and the adjacent Wirral peninsula, the Mysterines formed as an angst-ridden, grunge-inspired indie band with vocalist, guitarist, and chief songwriter Lia Metcalfe at the helm. Drawing from Hole and PJ Harvey, the group surfaced in the late 2010s via an EP on James Skelly’s Skeleton Key imprint. Two further independent EPs preceded their Universal deal, which yielded the widely acclaimed 2022 debut album Reeling. Extensive road work ensued, encompassing support dates for Arctic Monkeys, before the band tracked its second album in Los Angeles. Afraid of Tomorrows appeared in June 2024.
Metcalfe’s father Andrew had fronted the local outfits Sound of Guns and, later, Guide, placing him in position to instruct her on guitar when she first showed interest at age nine. Immersed in music throughout childhood, she naturally gravitated toward starting a band. After crossing paths with bassist George Favager in 2014, the pair shared tastes and spent a couple of years plotting until drummer Zak McDonnell joined; by the 2018 debut single “Hormone,” McDonnell had been succeeded by Metcalfe’s close friend Chrissy Moore. James Skelly of the Coral embraced the track and issued it on Skeleton Key, leading the trio onto a national tour with Miles Kane. The song later anchored their first EP, Take Control, recorded at Skelly’s Parr St. Studios and released in August 2019. Additional gigs followed alongside the Amazons and Royal Blood. Although Moore exited before 2020, momentum persisted as Metcalfe and Favager fielded press inquiries as a duo. In a rapid sequence, Paul Crilly on drums and Callum Thompson on guitar completed the lineup, enabling the quartet’s first nationwide tour just before the March 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns.
With Metcalfe living solo, the tour’s end left her ample solitude for new compositions. The May 2020 Love’s Not Enough EP amassed more than two million streams, attracting Universal Music, which signed the band. As restrictions lifted, the four members shared a house to develop material for their debut album, tracking it from July onward with Catherine Marks at London’s Assault & Battery Studios. Three concentrated one-week sessions in the capital finished the record by March 2021. Metcalfe contributed vocals to Paul Weller’s May 2021 release Fat Pop, Vol. 1, and the Mysterines’ first Universal single, “In My Head,” arrived that July. BBC 6 Music championed it along with the follow-ups “Hung Up,” “The Bad Thing,” and “Dangerous.” Eighteen months after sessions began, Reeling emerged in March 2022 and reached the U.K. album chart’s Top Ten.
During the ensuing eighteen months the quartet toured extensively behind the album, including opening slots for Arctic Monkeys. After issuing the 2023 standalone single “Begin Again,” they traveled to Los Angeles to record the successor with producer John Congleton. Influenced by the documentary Meet Me in the Bathroom, the Mysterines adopted a punchier approach reminiscent of Y2K acts such as the Strokes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Lead singles “Stray” and “Sink Ya Teeth” preceded the June 2024 arrival of Afraid of Tomorrows.
Metcalfe’s father Andrew had fronted the local outfits Sound of Guns and, later, Guide, placing him in position to instruct her on guitar when she first showed interest at age nine. Immersed in music throughout childhood, she naturally gravitated toward starting a band. After crossing paths with bassist George Favager in 2014, the pair shared tastes and spent a couple of years plotting until drummer Zak McDonnell joined; by the 2018 debut single “Hormone,” McDonnell had been succeeded by Metcalfe’s close friend Chrissy Moore. James Skelly of the Coral embraced the track and issued it on Skeleton Key, leading the trio onto a national tour with Miles Kane. The song later anchored their first EP, Take Control, recorded at Skelly’s Parr St. Studios and released in August 2019. Additional gigs followed alongside the Amazons and Royal Blood. Although Moore exited before 2020, momentum persisted as Metcalfe and Favager fielded press inquiries as a duo. In a rapid sequence, Paul Crilly on drums and Callum Thompson on guitar completed the lineup, enabling the quartet’s first nationwide tour just before the March 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns.
With Metcalfe living solo, the tour’s end left her ample solitude for new compositions. The May 2020 Love’s Not Enough EP amassed more than two million streams, attracting Universal Music, which signed the band. As restrictions lifted, the four members shared a house to develop material for their debut album, tracking it from July onward with Catherine Marks at London’s Assault & Battery Studios. Three concentrated one-week sessions in the capital finished the record by March 2021. Metcalfe contributed vocals to Paul Weller’s May 2021 release Fat Pop, Vol. 1, and the Mysterines’ first Universal single, “In My Head,” arrived that July. BBC 6 Music championed it along with the follow-ups “Hung Up,” “The Bad Thing,” and “Dangerous.” Eighteen months after sessions began, Reeling emerged in March 2022 and reached the U.K. album chart’s Top Ten.
During the ensuing eighteen months the quartet toured extensively behind the album, including opening slots for Arctic Monkeys. After issuing the 2023 standalone single “Begin Again,” they traveled to Los Angeles to record the successor with producer John Congleton. Influenced by the documentary Meet Me in the Bathroom, the Mysterines adopted a punchier approach reminiscent of Y2K acts such as the Strokes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Lead singles “Stray” and “Sink Ya Teeth” preceded the June 2024 arrival of Afraid of Tomorrows.
Albums
Singles
