ENGLISH TEACHER - NYC, NY 9.25.2025
Coverage by Kimmy Curry
British rock band English Teacher kicked off their run of NYC shows last week at TV Eye in Ridgewood, Queens. Led by front-woman Lily Fontaine on vocals, English Teacher had a whirlwind of a year in 2024, gaining much critical success with their striking debut record, “This Could Be Texas”. Therefore 2025 has been one big victory lap for the group, as they continue to tour and play festivals around the world after winning the renowned Mercury Prize.
English Teacher opened their show with the title track of their album, which begins as spoken word over a minimal piano melody, and crescendoing into a bigger declaration of ambition accompanied flourishing instrumentation. The captivating punk-inspired instrumentation combined with Fontaine’s fast-talking vocals. English Teacher’s music is full of poetic musings about art and the world, and are frequently laced with playful witticisms.
The band’s performance contains a few moments of downtime between songs, barely enough for the audience to catch their breath after another climax of guitar, cello, piano and synth comes to a breaking point. There’s an air in the room of seriously talented musicians that are deeply focused on making beautiful high quality sounds, and an emphasis on setting an atmosphere in the room. Songs such as “I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying” and “The World’s Biggest Paving Slab” immediately fill the room with sounds from all instruments at once.The latter of which also deals with the group's sudden launch to fame after the success of their breakout single “R&B” in 2021 (“I am the world’s biggest paving slab, and the world’s smallest celebrity”).
English Teacher continues their tour in Europe and the UK this fall. Find more information here: https://www.englishteacherband.com/
