Post-punk supergroup The NONE on authenticity and political peacocking for DIY's Class of 2026 • Neu • DIY Magazine

“Triple Peanut Butter Bullshit; The Old Dead Rat Carpet; Hello Mom - I Hate You,” offers up Jim Back, guitarist of The NONE, “that’s my favourite.” No it’s not the BBC Sound of 2026 list, it’s the band’s current topic of conversation in their group Whatsapp: fake band names.

Surreal humour might not yet be the first thought when post-punk band The NONE come to mind, but the outfit have plenty of hidden depths to be discovered. The songs on their combined EPs ‘MATTER’ and ‘CARE’ sound like brutalist architecture: hard lines and difficult angles, while vocalist Kai Whyte’s delivery has the energised immediacy of someone running out of a burning house screaming. “We wanted to make something loud and ugly,” explains bassist Gordon Moakes. “And we didn’t care if you didn’t like it.”

tLive, their intensity is magnified. At their show in London’s tiny, 60-capacity Blue Basement, a hairless Kai grinds, prowls and punches across its compact stage dressed in black Adidas sports shorts, with two microphones in hand. As the sylphlike Jim expertly milks spikey minor chords from his (literally) metal guitar, Gordon and drummer Chris Francombe provide a storied rhythm section that give the songs extra intensity. The banter between Jim and Kai is warm with a pinch of cringe (“Alright, George Of The Jungle!” he says to them after they spontaneously roar). There’s a closeness between the members, grown from a shared experience of the music industry (their collective CV includes time spent in - among others - Bloc Party, Youth Man, Cassels, and Frauds). “We are all, to some degree, somewhat jaded,” laughs Jim.

Kai was the last to join and the musical cherry on top. Their stage presence is electric: dripping with an Iggy Pop-ish outlaw edginess. “I feel less vulnerable on stage than in real life,” they say. “It’s like: this is my space and you have paid for the privilege of listening and watching. So it feels like I can do what I want.”

“If your politics have ended up in your press release then I would question whether you’re serving the cause or if the cause is serving you.”

— Gordon Moakes

In a genre not known for its diversity, the spectre of a black, shaven-headed frontperson makes The NONE stand out. “Kai has spoken before about being the only black person at our gigs,” says Jim. Still, the band are uncomfortable with being labelled ‘a political band’, despite the lyrics of songs like ‘At Hope’ and ‘In Civic Pride’ (which deal with economic inequality). “It’s certainly not political with a capital P,” notes Jim. “We’re not writing protest songs,” Kai agrees. “But I don’t think you can exist as a person of colour, as a trans person and that not be political. Especially when you’re getting on stage and talking about your experiences.”

A week after Bob Vylan made headlines for simply playing a gig, it’s unsurprising that the quartet are wary of the political punk movement. “If your politics have ended up in your press release then I would question whether you’re serving the cause or if the cause is serving you,” says Gordon. “There’s a cynical use of that kind of sentiment,” Jim continues, “it just feels like I’m listening to tweets.”

With a full length debut currently being worked on, Gordon says it will be “just a bit more of everything,” while Kai adds: “I’ve started taking HRT, so my voice is going to change. I want to work with it, rather than against it.” Fingers crossed for Hello Mom - I Hate You as the support for 2026’s subsequent tour…

‘CARE’ is out now via Zennor.

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