Kristen Sinclair

 “Wait, are they covering the Thomas the Tank Engine theme song?” Ciara abruptly detracts from what she was saying to point out the gimmicky chug coming from the next room. The rest of Problem Patterns burst into laughter. The band are sitting in a circle on the floor of their rehearsal space off the Springfield Road, a cosy studio littered with battered sofas and cables. Ciara and Alanah sip on iced coffees; Beth and Bev unpack their kit as we chat. Their neighbours have unknowingly joined in on a private joke. “Thomas the Tank Engine was pivotal in album recording,” Alanah laughs. “We’d just stick it on whenever we needed cheering up.” The band are still recovering from their first live set of the year at the Atlantic Bar in Portrush the previous weekend. When I ask how it was, they answer in a chorus of superlatives – amazing, electrifying, sweaty. The sold-out goodbye gig for the iconic north coast venue saw Problem Patterns take to the stage alongside ASIWYFA, Brand New Friend...

‘The Fight Is Not Over’ reads the slogan emblazoned across the jackets of Strange New Places onstage at the Ulster Hall at the end of their electrifying set at the NI Music Prize in November. “As much as the small victories are meaningful and worth celebrating, our work is not done. While injustice persists, we won’t shut up,” lead vocalist Ashley Jones tells the packed-out venue and live radio broadcast over Northern Ireland, “Until a sea-change in our society affords us autonomy rather than oppression, we will not be satisfied. We aren’t there yet, which is why we’re still here. The fight is not over. Join us in it.” Whilst activists in Northern Ireland had fought for years to finally achieve the equal marriage and abortion rights that the rest of the UK and Ireland enjoys, Strange New Places’ message was clear: now is not the time to stop fighting – we have not reached the end goal. Over six months later, the quote adorns the back of a new vinyl compilation The Fight Is...