Some might say we are locked in

Villanelle have spoken to NME about new music in the works, feeling “locked in” as a band, and plans for a huge 2027 on the horizon. Watch the full interview above.

The rising UK rockers caught up with NME backstage at Mad Cool 2026 last week, where they told us about how they’d been smashing festivals and the Warped Tour in America, alongside playing The Great Escape and Neighbourhood Weekender in the UK. They also looked ahead to some major slots at Reading & Leeds and playing alongside their heroes Deftones at London’s All Points East x Outbreak next month.

Having previously told us about feeling apart from much of the guitar music scene, the grunge four-piece said they were now finding themselves as part of a community.

“We feel so left out, man!” joked frontman Gene Gallagher. “At my old school in kindergarten, we had one of those friendship bus stops. I feel like they need to make a band one of them! We don’t bite!”

Bassist Jack Schiavo continued: “When we were at The Great Escape, we hung out with a lot of the bands that played with us there. The guys in Die Twice, then you’ve got mutual friends and guys like Bleech 9:3 who are on their way up big time – we’re familiar with them and we like their tunes.”

Guitarist Ben Taylor agreed: “That’s what was nice about doing America. The UK circuit is quite self-contained until you go out over there. It was nice to meet some people that you normally wouldn’t. Bec Lauder supported us on the last tour; that was really cool.”

Villanelle at Mad Cool 2026. CREDIT: PACO POYATO

But for now at Mad Cool, they said they’d just settle for practising their Spanish and hanging about by the bins waiting to meet headliners Foo Fighters and Dave Grohl.

“Yeah, I’m friends with Dave, man,” said Gallagher. “We go way back!”

Gallagher had previously shared that their single ‘Placebo’ is “about heightened visualisations of post-session anxiety”.

“I don’t know what any of that means!” he replied when reminded of the quote. “That’s been thought up in a boardroom somewhere.”

Perhaps, but how’s he getting at handling the hangovers as the tours get heavier and summer begins?

“I’ve had to have a haircut because I was just getting trapped in my own hair follicles,” he told us. “I need to spread my wings and break free. I’ve taken the reins, and here I am. Today’s the day.”

Beyond Duolingo and freeing himself from his own mane, Gallagher said he was fixed on new material – with an EP due by the end of the year and hopes for an album after that.

“It’s just straight, absolute vibes,” shared drummer Bleu Wright. “The shows are going to go crazy. We’re at a point where when we’re creating, we’re so locked in with each other at the moment. The other day, we had a little rehearsal and came up with a little jam that could be a new one. Who knows? We’re at the point where we’re flowing together with so much.”

While Schiavo said his go-to was always “under-promising and over-delivering”, Taylor hailed their incoming new stuff as “an evolution of what we’ve been doing this year, and we’re cemented as a band now”.

Gallagher agreed: “Some might say we’re locked in! We’ve been very busy this year, so we’ll see. We’ll see! We’re drunk, so leave us alone.”

Villanelle, 2026. Credit: Simon Emmett, exclusive to NME

After Taylor told us that “next year is looking pretty big, but there’s not much we can say right now”, we had to ask if it involved the band rejoining Gallagher’s dad on the road again – but this time for the long-rumoured Oasis Live ’27 tour?

“Who the fuck is that?” Gallagher replied.

“It’s about us, man!” asserted Taylor. “Next year will be the year of Villanelle…”

Schiavo added: “And every year after…”

Villanelle’s ‘Measly Means’ EP is out now, with the band due to perform at All Points East x Outbreak in London and Reading & Leeds in August. 

You can revisit all of NME’s coverage from Mad Cool 2026 here.

NME is the official media partner of Mad Cool.

You can view the original article HERE.