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Interview by Bailey Ewers-Smith

Foreword by Rachel Gambling

To say it’s been a busy few years for BE N!CE would be an understatement. Since forming in 2022, the quartet have travelled across England, and broken into Europe with shows in Germany and Belgium. Described as “music that fucks off in whatever direction it wants to,” there’s an undeniable sass to all the elements that make up BE N!CE’s latest single, Buddy. Whether it’s Brett Lee’s cheeky riffs, Emily Harris’ tasty lines, or Alex MacIntosh’s hardcore drums, the composition ties together with the strength of Pol Mills’ expressionist vocals. With a band already steadfast in their musical identity in the wake of their second EP, IT’S GETTING HARDER, there’s a lot to look forward to as they approach their appearance at Burn It Down Festival in September.

girlblog! Music Editor Bailey Ewers-Smith had the chance to chat with Pol before the release of their EP and performance on the 2nd and 3rd September.

It’s a very exciting time for BE N!CE at the moment! You’re dropping your new EP, IT’S GETTING HARDER, very soon. This is your second EP, and it’s (fittingly) dropping on the 2nd September! What’s been the band’s thought process with this EP, compared to your first, WHERE AM I?

PM: We, for the most part, have gotten heavier, both lyrically and musically! Things are also a lot more intentional this time around. The first EP wasn't something we initially planned on making. We just recorded a few songs, and then decided to put them together –-- whereas this time, we had the intention of creating IT’S GETTING HARDER.

In terms of gigs, things aren’t quiet on that front either! There are a lot of opportunities to catch you live at the moment, including at Burn It Down Festival on the 3rd September. Earlier this month, you’d even planned to leave our shores once again for a European gig — this time in Utrecht, Netherlands — but unfortunately, you had to drop out. Thinking about the times you have gotten to play European shows, what have they been like to play?

PM: It’s a lot of fun playing in Europe. It’s crazy that we have fans outside of the UK and it feels like an honour to have the opportunity to tour places like Belgium and Germany. The community there is really welcoming and cool, and we’ve always been very well looked after. The venues we’ve played out there are also really unique and fun! Rockerill in Charleroi, for instance, was an abandoned factory that had been turned into a music venue and events space.

Ask me to name a song that encapsulates what BE N!CE is all about and it wouldn’t take me longer than two seconds to say ‘Cambridge.’ The lyrics are a prime example of this, a great demonstration of the band’s charming punk bluntness on societal topics, but also how much you brilliantly inject a dark playfulness to things. I didn’t ever think I’d hear the lyrics “post my suicide note in the fucking Slack channel.” How did that song come about, and what is the thinking behind your focus on blunt, dark humour in your lyrics and band image?

PM: This song is Emily’s brainchild (our bassist). She wrote this song on her commute to and from her old job in Cambridge. I always introduce it on stage as Emily’s ‘love letter to her old job’ — however, when you hear the lyrics, you can tell it’s anything but. It came from a place of desperation and frustration about her work situation at the time.

In regards to our playfulness, I think it’s important to be playful about what we do. Because first of all, we’re silly people. But sometimes, you do just have to make a joke of a situation.

The topic of modern punk has become quite contentious. Many people, often citing the values and attitudes of those in the 70s and 80s scenes, feel that today's punk music doesn't represent what 'punk' is supposed to be. As a Gen Z punk frontperson, what are your thoughts on this criticism of modern punk?

PM: I think a lot of people don’t like change and feel like the music from their era was inherently better. But I think that modern day punk still holds a lot of the same values that punk in the 70s and 80s did. It just looks a lot queerer now (though it was still pretty queer back then). Punk is supposed to be radical, and subversive, and serve as a fuck you to mainstream norms. I think a lot of current punk fits that bill. There’s a few people that have always wanted to use it as an excuse to be a dickhead –-- but at its core, punk is about community.

On that relationship between LGBTQ+ and punk, BE N!CE is very open about embracing the LGBTQ+ part of its identity. Whilst having the role as the band's lead singer, yourself for example is openly non-binary. In your experience, what has it been like to be the lead singer of a band, as someone who is non-binary?

PM: Unfortunately, I still get treated as a woman 99% of the time — so a lot of my experiences are still directly tied to misogyny. I get misgendered often because people don’t realise or don’t care that I’m non-binary. People also use my birth name despite me never introducing myself that way. There’s also just a lot of not being taken seriously, or being heavily sexualised. But again, I think that’s misogyny.

Finally, to round things off, what other bands should people go and see at Burn It Down Festival? Especially other female or LGBTQ+ fronted bands?

PM: So Far So Good, Cowboy Hunters, Pest Control, Heriot, Sunday Best, Mishikui, and Split Dogs. There’s definitely lots more awesome bands playing — it’s a great line-up!

BE N!CE will be releasing their EP IT’S GETTING HARDER on 2nd September and performing at Burn It Down Festival on 3rd September.

Interviewer's note: Edits have been made to the questions and answers in order to make the interview better suited for publishing, but it has been kept as close to the original transcript as possible.

Pol Mills of BE N!CE Talks Burn It Down Festival and Their New EP

Interview by Bailey Ewers-Smith

Foreword by Rachel Gambling

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