After a run of singles and a summer spent winning over crowds at live shows and festivals, 2026 has proved to be a breakout year for British alt-pop band AFTERDRIVE. And with the release of their debut EP on the horizon and a headline UK tour set to kick off later this month, that momentum shows no signs of slowing down.
For Ben, Ed, Joe and Luke, aka AFTERDRIVE, ‘Dress To Drive’ is more than a debut EP – it’s a four-track descent into desire, obsession and escape. Cinematic in scope and restless in execution, the record follows a protagonist caught between attraction and addiction, image and identity, tracing the increasingly blurred line between wanting something and being consumed by it. Across its four tracks, the story moves from the rush of attraction to reckless abandon, before arriving at its inevitable conclusion: loss.
It’s a bold introduction from a band already making serious noise across the UK’s tastemaker circuit. BBC Radio 1’s Alyx Holcombe has championed both ‘Jewellery’ and recent single ‘Neon View’ across her Indie Show and BBC Introducing… Rock Show, while Jess Iszatt and local BBC Introducing… host Angelle Joseph have also thrown their support behind the band. Now, with ‘Dress To Drive’ setting the scene, AFTERDRIVE are taking the story on the road, launching their first ever headline tour.
We caught up with band members Ben and Ed to talk about their breakout year, finding their identity as AFTERDRIVE, the cinematic world of ‘Dress To Drive’, and what comes next.
Lads, can you believe we’re heading into the final months of the year? Talk to me about 2026…
Ben: I honestly don’t think things could have gone any better for us in 2026! As some people may already know, we’ve been together for about four years now, and don’t get me wrong, things have been good, but since we started working with our new team everything’s ramped up, and things feel to be getting bigger and bigger! So we’re happy… really happy.
Ed: Like Ben said, we’ve been together for a while now, so whilst we’re not total newcomers, we still feel like we’re finding our feet, and our place in the industry. We’ve put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes, and really taken our time to go about doing things in the right way, so that we can now move forward and really be the band we want to be. The tour that’s coming up this month, and the EP are the first major projects we’ve worked on, so it’s really exciting to see all our of ideas coming to life.
Ben: What a way to end this year, going out on our first headline tour! I can’t wait to see every single fan, and every person who supported us, listened to our music and engaged with us online – we’re going to give them the best show ever!
There’s no denying your fanbase has grown significantly over the last 12 months. Are you feeling comfortable in your new roles as pop stars?
Ben: I think that’s the first time in my life I’ve heard someone call me a pop star!.. and I kind of like it, thank you (laughs).
Ed: Yeah, I’ve definitely never been called a pop star before! Erm… are we pop stars? I don’t know. Let’s just say we’re feeling super comfortable and confident in who we are in the band.
So you feel like you’ve now found your identity as AFTERDRIVE?
Ed: Oh absolutely! There’s always that trial and error period, where you’re going back and forth trying to establish your dynamic as a group. And actually, you could say that dynamic is ever changing and evolving as we learn what each of our strengths are. But on the whole, we’re good.
Ben: Yeah, when you first start out as a band, you’re almost always testing to the waters to see what lands, and how you all best work together. But like Ed says, we’ve moved past all of that now, and I think we all feel pretty set in who we are as AFTERDRIVE.
What can you tell me about your latest single ‘Jewellery’ – and why did this feel like the right song to release now?
Ben: ‘Jewellery’ has a slightly heavier feel to it than our previous releases. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still very much a typical AFTERDRIVE track, but it has a bit more grit and edge to it. Was that intentional? Erm… yes and no. Because we’re now presenting a whole body of work, and not just a run of stand alone singles, we felt like it was really important that the first track to be released off the EP made a statement – musically, and lyrically. So production wise, it’s full of contrasts – soft vocals, heavy drums, loud guitar. Then lyrically we’re exploring that feeling you get when you’re a bit fed up, and tired of experiencing the same old, same old, then suddenly you meet somebody completely different to anyone you’ve ever met before, and they just change your whole outlook on everything. They become a valuable part of your life, and give you something that feels irreplaceable. We use jewellery as a metaphor in the song, because for a lot of people it’s something that holds sentimental value and meaning… it’s rare, one of a kind, and if you lose it, you can’t ever get it back.
What’s your thought process in the run up to releasing new music?
Ed: It’s always exciting putting new music out… and maybe a little bit daunting too (laughs). But with each new release you learn more about the process, so that when the time comes to do it again, you’re more prepared and better equipped to not let any nerves or anxieties take over. There’s a lot of planning that goes into releasing music, more than we ever thought, our team work really hard to get our songs out there and we’re super grateful for that; we don’t take any of this for granted.
Ben: I used to get really nervous in the run up to a release! We care so much about what we do, and we want to be successful, so there’s always that thought in your mind of how will a song land? Will it do well? Will this be the one to breakthrough? The pressure can be a lot! But I’m learning to enjoy the process though, and I’m feeling really confident that these songs will find their way to people… we’re ready to put the work in to make sure they do!
Do you think having direct access to fans via social media gives you more control over how you promote and build momentum around a song?
Ed: Yeah I’d say so. It’s funny because to be an artist today, you also have to become a bit of a content creator too. I know a lot of people will have differing opinions on that as to whether it’s a good thing, or a bad thing, but for me, the way I see it, that’s just the way things are right now, so you’ve got to embrace it and go with it. It can be tricky to find the right balance, and we struggled a little to begin with, but the more content shoots we’ve done, the more fun it’s become. You’re essentially creating your own visuals that serve as an extension of the song you’re trying to promote. I think there’s a power in that, and it’s great that artists can now have that level of control.
Ben: At the end of the day, you want people to know you’ve got new music out there, so we’re happy to go all out, and do all we can, to make sure that our fans are aware of what we’re doing.
If the visuals tell one story, what messages are you trying to convey with the music and lyrics?
Ed: This is 100% a question for Ben to answer (laughs). He has a real talent for storytelling, and conveying different emotions through song.
Ben: On the whole I think our songs work on a bunch of different levels – they have a vibe to them, which means you could listen to them while you’re getting ready to go on a night out, and just enjoy the music, or you can sit on your own and listen to them through your headphones and really take on board the lyrics. I like to write songs that have a bit of a double meaning to them, but I never really like to reveal what they’re actually about. On the surface a song can mean one thing to me, but something totally different to you. It depends how deep you want to go. We spoke earlier about the concept behind the lyric for ‘Jewellery’, which was cool because as it’s the first song to be released from the EP, I feel like it’s important we give people a little bit of an insight into what they’re getting from this project. But on the whole I like to be quite ambiguous, and leave the songs open to interpretation.
‘Dress To Drive’ is out this week! How did the idea of doing an EP come about?
Ed: We’ve actually talked about making an EP for a really long time, but didn’t really know how to start the process. Our manager Lauren has really helped really us to bring this vision and music to life.
Ben: Yeah she’s been amazing. Pretty much the first thing we said when we met her was that we really wanted to put out an EP, and she was totally down for it!
Ed: I think we all felt like we’d reached a stage where it was time to show people more of what we’re about. Releasing singles is great, but how much understanding of a band can you get from hearing one or two songs?
Ben: That’s why it feels amazing to be putting out a body of work, rather than just another run of standalone singles. Like Ed said, we already had a vision for the kind of project we wanted to make, and we’ve been writing solidly behind the scenes to improve ourselves as songwriters and musicians so that make the best music possible. You only have one opportunity to release your first EP or album, so it’s important we get this right.
Ed: We’ve really enjoyed having the freedom to experiment, and it’s been fun to create songs that when played together, tell a story. I’d actually say this is the most fun we’ve had in the studio working on music.
When you’re in the studio, how important is having a routine or structure to your creative process? Do you find that it helps you create, or can too much structure feel restrictive?
Ed: I’d say it’s good to have a bit of both. I don’t think you should ever be too locked into one way of working, and that be your only method to create, because that could maybe potentially stifle your creativity. But then equally, if there’s no order whatsoever to your session, things could go awry quite easily (laughs). So I guess it’s about finding the right balance that works for you, and the people you’re collaborating with. We usually go into the studio with a fully fledged demo of a song already in place, so the majority of the time we know exactly what we’re doing the minute we arrive.
Ben: True, but then sometimes inspiration just finds us on the day doesn’t it? I guess there’s no right or wrong way of working, you just have to go in there and do your thing, and see what you come up with. I think once you’ve found your sound as band, writing and being in the studio gets a little easier as you know exactly what you’re trying to achieve.
At what point did you feel like you’d found your sound, and the essence of who you wanted to be as AFTERDRIVE?
Ed: It’s tough to say really. The essence of who we are as a band is based on our friendship. And I think the longer we’ve worked together, and the more songs we’ve written together, the more in synch we’ve become as a group, rather than us being four individuals coming together in a room to make music because it’s something we like to do for fun. We’re all agreed on what we’re trying to achieve here, and our sound and style continues to evolve. Some of our earlier releases are quite different to the tracks you’re going to hear on ‘Dress To Drive’ but that doesn’t mean we’ll disown them or anything, they’re still a part of our catalogue, we’ve just grown and matured in the time since we wrote them. They serve as the perfect reflection of who we were back then though, which I think is cool because we’ll always have them there to remind us of that time in our lives.
How important was collaborating with other artists, producers and musicians in helping you to discover your collective musical DNA?
Ben: All of the writing and creating we do is done internally. So what you’re hearing, and what we’re saying comes directly from us, and I’d say really that our relationship each other forms our musical DNA. What working with other producers does, is open your eyes and ears to other sounds, ideas and production styles. There was a time a while ago that went to a more pop influential studio, and worked on our song ‘Cars’, and that set us off in a whole different direction, because we all agreed that that song was an absolute banger once it was finished! I remember us being really excited and saying that we wanted to explore that vibe further in our future writing sessions. Had we not gone to that session though, and worked with more pop leaning producers then I don’t think we’d have ever really gone down that route as much as we have… so yeah, I think it’s true to say that working with different people can definitely help you to develop your sound.
As we’ve already discussed, you’re just weeks away from the launch of your first ever headline tour! Is performing live to fans the best part of being in a band?
Ed: Yeah for sure! I mean we genuinely love everything we do, but touring is probably the funnest part of being in AFTERDRIVE.
Ben: Playing live to crowd of people who have come out just to see you, and hear your music, is like the biggest and best reward ever. It makes all of the long days, endless nights and hard work worth it. It’s also one of the few times you get to see first hand the effect your music is having on your audience. To feel that appreciation from people, and to see how much they’re enjoying what you’re doing is the best feeling ever – it’s addictive, and you just want get out there, and play live as much as you can.
Ed: There’s no other feeling like it! As much as we enjoy writing and being in the studio, the adrenaline you get from doing a live show is unmatched! Nothing compares to that natural high you get from crowds of people singing your music back to you. It’s really special.
With ‘Dress To Drive’ being such a cinematic project, how are you translating that world into the live show? Will the tour stay rooted in the EP, or are you using it as a starting point to tell the wider AFTERDRIVE story?
Ed: We’ll be creating a balance of the two. Obviously this tour comes as we release the EP, so there will be a definite focus on the new material, but we love all of our songs, and always have a great time performing them, so we’ll be pulling from all sections of our catalogue. And maybe some new music that no-ones heard yet…
Ben: We feel like we have a good understanding now of what works in a live setting, and what songs crowds will respond well to, so we’re confident this will be an epic show!
Given the title of the EP, can we please request at least one costume change during the show?
Ed: That’s not a idea actually… I like that idea (laughs).
Ben: We’ve actually got some designers we’re working with now, and we’re enjoying ramping up that side of things – we’ve start looking like pop stars right? (Laughs).
How do you want to be known as a live act?
Ben: You know when you go to a gig and you’re enjoying yourself so much that you just don’t want it to end? That’s the energy we want to bring during our live shows. We want to create an experience for people that they’ll keep and hold onto forever.
Ed: Yeah it’s all about giving an audience a moment, and a memory that they’ll love to recall for years and years to come. We want everyone at our shows to feel like they can escape from their lives for the night, and just get lost in the music. Nothing should matter to them for that hour that we’re on stage, other than them having a good time.
With everything moving so quickly for AFTERDRIVE right now, how do you stay present and make sure you’re actually taking the time to enjoy everything that’s happening around you?
Ed: That’s a great question. I think no matter what industry you’re in or whatever your lifestyle is, we all need to learn how to be present and enjoy life as it’s happening, rather than worrying about the future. None of us knows what’s coming next, so it’s important to celebrate and appreciate those moments when you’re winning, and learn as best you can from the times when things don’t go you’re way.
Ben: I’ve been working on trying to achieve this lately, because sometimes I feel a lot of life and the amazing things were doing is passing me by because I’m thinking too much about what’s coming next. When we opened for Ed Sheeran, it was probably one of the best days of our lives! The lead up was really full on and intense, this was about to be a huge moment for us, everything had to be perfect. Everything that happened was a bit of a blur, but I can clearly remember walking out onto the stage and thinking: “this is incredible!” And then the next minute the show was over – it all went by so fast. As much as I loved it and enjoyed the whole experience, I do wish I’d been more present and taken the time to process what was happening. Life for everyone is so fast paced right now, and there’s a lot of things playing out that we each have to contend with. So I just think, where possible, you have to let of what’s out of your control and, as they say, take the time to smell the roses.
AFTERDRIVE’s debut EP ‘Dress To Drive’ is available to pre-save now. Tickets for their UK tour are available to purchase online here.
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