As 2026 wears on, Britain’s love of the post-punk indie rock boy band ceaselessly stalks the streets of our country, searching for the next great band to post aesthetic beer garden photos to. Enter: Central Arcade. Emerging from the small North East town of Hexham at the beginning of 2024, the buzz around these lads is undeniable – from supporting Everything Everything at Newcastle’s very own NX to playing Camden’s iconic Dublin Castle venue, the band have already garnered an impressive national reputation.
However, when sitting down with Connall, Carly, Joe and Ben, the camaraderie is instantly tangible and warming – the awkwardness that sometimes pervades artist interviews is absent here, and the conversation flows naturally. “It's very collaborative” lead singer Connall replied when asked about the band’s separate creative visions, highlighting how their differences become strengths. “If there's something somebody really doesn't like, it's going to get brought up. And if they don't like it enough, it'll get changed”, referencing the collaborative approach to their most recent track ‘Hero’, released earlier this month. “Ben and Joe had never written a melody for a song before, like a vocal melody. But they wrote the chorus melody for that because they weren't happy with what I'd came up with.”
“It adds a lot of depth” bassist Joe highlighted, “if each part isn't written by the same person, because everyone hears different things within the music that they can write”. Central Arcade’s inspirations are often referenced in articles – having been compared to Fontaines D.C. and Wunderhorse, the band’s indie rock roots are evident in the music. “We all have our own sort of like elements that we like to add to it”, they emphasise. “That's what makes stuff unique, when you can take stuff from different areas and make your own thing out of it”.
When it comes to live performances, the band are no strangers to an electrifying gig and discussed some of their favourite – and biggest – gigs to date. It would be impossible to go the whole interview without mentioning their support slot with indie rock legends Everything Everything – which, according to the band, “had everything” (including free beers in the green room). “It's quite a well-known venue in town as well” they continued. “We've been to see so many bands just as members of the audience, like countless times. So, it's pretty cool to be on the other side of it.”
Having roamed through a variety of conversational topics, only one question remains – what does the future have in store for Central Arcade? Surprisingly, they’re coy with the answer, mysteriously suggesting that I stay tuned for updates. Changing tack, I asked how they felt about the buzz around their career, to which Connall very sagely replied “You just got to be patient with it because like nothing really happens overnight,”, emphasizing the waiting game that was necessary within the industry. “You just got to keep working and chipping away at it, which we're doing. And we know it's like, it's not a short road really, especially like if you look at where we were when we first started or even last year - we're a lot wiser now than we were.”
With an evident passion and an easy rapport, Central Arcade have what it takes to enter into the long-revered British tradition of indie rock superstardom – if only they could sort their internet connection…
Central Arcade take to the stage at Zerox on the 10th of April for their hometown headline gig and at A Stone’s Throw festival on the 23rd of May.
Written by: Charlotte Atkinson
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