The rising Leeds band gear up towards the release of their debut EP

The Leeds-based four-piece indie unit sees the release of their brand new single Mental Maths, the latest sneak of the group’s eagerly anticipated debut EP Polyawkward, due out later this month.

My first exposure to English Teacher was with the release of Good Grief last year. Vocalist Lily Fontaine’s smooth and wonderful voice paired with her intriguing choice of lyricism — all to the backdrop of a resonant bass riff — is what grasped my attention.

Since forming in 2020 after meeting at Leeds Conservatoire, the band have quickly made their presence known — not just in the Leeds scene, but in the wider UK indie scene also. And this looks to be merely the start for this band.

Mental Maths has managed to recreate that first listening magic of other English Teacher singles to a tee: a capsule of non-diluted personality and emotion with some of the more thoughtful and expressive lyrics I’ve seen written in a while. They’re on par with Yard Act, another contemporary band I’d place on the same level lyric complexity wise, who just so happen to be from Leeds too. Maybe this is a Leeds thing? Something in River Aire water, perhaps? The Fenton beer improving vocabulary?

When it comes to the meaning behind Mental Maths, Fontaine commented: “Mental Maths is an expression of social anxiety and sensory overload through the catastrophising of a trip to the supermarket.”

Mental Maths starts slowly and its slightly anxious guitar riff is unnerving in nature, this is paired with Lily Fontaine’s signature almost dreamlike spoken-word lyrics. The song moves on from its slow hazy beginnings and sees all sorts of shifts in tempo – drummer Douglas Frost put his heart into the track and it doesn’t half show.

The song concludes with what can only be described as a Kafkaesque riff – the work put in by guitarist Lewis and bassist Nicholas Eden is incredible here and cannot go without a mention. The feeling of anxiousness and unease that the song has slowly been building up is suddenly released in a pulse of power and emotion. It’s raw, it’s potent, and it’s a must-listen.

Polyawkward is out on April 22nd via Nice Swan Records.