UK Hardcore crew False Reality are making all the right noises for UK hardcore right now. The band who are made up of Rachel Rigby (vocals), Joe Cornwell (bass), Louis Dale (drums) and David Connolly (guitars), have just dropped their latest album “Faded Intentions” and it is a collection of songs that salutes the bands influences whilst raising their own stakes when it comes to their high energy, life affirming hardcore anthems. To celebrate the release of “Faded Intentions”, In Effect Hardcore’s Gavin Brown caught up with Rachel and Louis to get the lowdown on the record and its creation, how 2025 has been for False Reality and the UK hardcore scene that they are an integral part of. Photo collage photos by: Jon Sugden: @reprievevision
PHOTO BY: ANDY BAZ
IE: First off, congratulations on the brilliant new album. Did you want to make “Faded Intentions” a total statement of intent from False Reality?
Rachel: Our goal has always been to have fun with our creative side and incorporate all genres of music which influenced us growing up, which led us into hardcore. We all had different gateway genres and tastes which brought us to this point, and it’s important to acknowledge those we’ve always felt. It’s becoming more and more like a love letter to how we got here and the album. With this album, we’ve explored other genres that influenced us and brought us into hardcore, the genre that we love so much and have built so much of our lives around. This one delved into that a lot more.
IE: What were the genres that led you to where you are now with hardcore?
Louis: We met each other through the London hardcore scene. We each have our own elements that we bring to it. With Joe, there’s an element of metalcore and bands like Poison The Well that have influenced him and a lot of our tracks kind of mirror that more melodic side. We all love Deftones and the shoegaze side of alternative metal as well and we’ve tried to put that into the space of False Reality. It’s taking those different veins of alternative music and putting it into what we would consider, overall to be a hardcore record.
Rachel: Growing up… Black Flag. I was obsessed with “Nervous Breakdown” when I was younger… Deftones, I loved My Chemical Romance, I was a proper little emo!
IE: What were the biggest hardcore influences on False Reality?
Louis: We all kind of grew up in the UK scene, so that was always a big influence for a lot of us. I grew up listening to Hatebreed and Stampin Ground and hearing Stampin Ground drew me to finding out about bands like Knuckledust and Ninebar and the whole Rucktion scene as well. We all learned our chops through those ways really.
IE: What themes do the lyrics on the album touch upon?
Rachel: The themes are based on betrayals and the true reality of someone’s intentions and bringing it into focus. I think everyone’s been in those situations, so it’s taking inspiration from witnessing loved ones go through it, dealing with it yourself, hearing stories of people going through that. That’s the theme that we’ve gone through before on this one.
IE: Can you tell us about the creation and recording process of the album?
Louis: I think we approached this one differently to how we did “Path Of Self Destruct”. We spent a bit more time on this one, which meant that we did it in different chunks. We started with three or four songs and worked with Steve Sears Jr, who’s the guy that we used previously. Steve has worked with TRC and Gallows. He was in Cry For Silence. We really trust his process and the way he’s able to work with us to be very creative. He takes that producer hat when we work together with him, and he just helps us craft the song as well. We recorded three tracks last year, and then we would return to the studio, where we got the others split over three or four sessions. We’ve been so active as a band in the last year. We had a huge UK tour in April as well that split up that time as well. We were able to use that time to really craft these songs and get to a place where we were really happy with them as well. It was a different approach, usually, you go into the studio and you get it all done, but for us, we did it a different way. I think it was to the benefit of the songs, to be able to give them the time and have them while they’re fresh. While they’ve just been written, let’s go and take them to the studio and then got the next ones coming up.
PHOTO BY: ANDY BAZ
IE: Is that a way that you’d work again in the future?
Louis: Yeah, I think because of our schedule we would. We were playing gigs quite a lot as well. So it was a case of just trying to fit in the time for the studio with what we had going on.
Rachel: It’s a juggling act, but thankfully we always make it work. We all have the same creative willpower within us, and we all work together really well. David is an incredible guitarist. He’ll come to us with some ideas, and then Joe will as well, he’s amazing, and he’s got a producer background, so he will have a really intelligent ear for certain things that you wouldn’t necessarily think of. Then we’ll get together and we’ll tweak it. We’ll make it something that’s an amalgamation of what all of us want to hear in that individual song. Each song manages to show our personalities really well. I think no matter what, it will just come together.
Louis: “Fading Intentions” is like one bold statement and a piece in itself. We do like delivering music in that long-form way. It sort of has a story to it and an ebb and the flow and there’s almost two sides to this album. I think the intention is always to deliver albums, or at least songs that can work within the space of an album as well. I know a lot of people just want to do EP’s, but I think we enjoy the process of having that much music in one piece.
PHOTO BY: ZOE SMITH
IE: Aside from the album, what have been some of the highlights of the year for False Reality?
Rachel: Playing the 2000 Trees Festival was absolutely incredible. That was a real bucket list moment for us. We were terrified in a really good way. We had just been on tour with Stick To Your Guns, and we had the best time doing that, and 2000 Trees was our last date of that tour. It was just the cherry on top. It was amazing when I asked for a circle pit and was probably expecting like two people to do it, but the reaction that we got there was really beyond what we expected. Burn It Down too, that’s always a really special one for us. We love playing DIY shows, anything that’s grassroots. That’s exactly what we are, that’s what we’ve risen from. It’s what we’ve put our hearts and souls into. We have such a big place in our hearts for the DIY community and playing DIY shows but 2000 Trees was amazing. and Burn It Down was absolutely incredible, too.
Louis: I think what made Burn It Down great as well was this year there was no barrier, and that just allows you to have so much more of a connection to the crowd. Any set that we can play without a barrier is always a good one.
IE: Have you been playing much material from the new album and how did that go over live?
Rachel: The reaction that we’ve had to the new material was beyond what we expected. We’ve been really grateful for that. I think our album has been written with the intention of it being played live. It’s an album that means so much to us and we’ve really gone whole hog in our creative side with it. But one thing that’s always been prevalent to everything that we’ve done is our music is to be played live. It’s music that’s to be experienced live.
IE: How was the experience of working with Speed on the track “Opposites React” from your “Path Of Self Destruct” release?
Rachel: Amazing. We have a really good relationship with those guys. They really were there for us at the very beginning of us being a band. We supported them. I think it was the fourth or fifth show we’d ever played. We supported them and got on with them really well. They are the loveliest people and they really helped us and influenced us with what we did. When we recorded that song, I was like, I feel like Jem is the only person in this moment that we want to ask, because he embodies everything that hardcore should be. The whole band, the attitudes, the way that they treat other people, their viewpoints, their political standpoints, even non-political standpoints, everything that they stand for in their personalities is exactly what hardcore is supposed to be about. We’re really glad that it worked out the way it did.
PHOTO BY: JON SUGDEN
IE: How healthy is the hardcore scene in the UK today in your opinion as it stands now?
Louis: It’s insane, so healthy.
Rachel: Yeah, it’s incredible. There are more and more bands cropping up, left, right and centre. There’s just so many shows and festivals happening. It’s really thriving and think it’s the best I’d say in at least the last 10 years.
Louis: The amount of promoters in London that are supporting young bands from the city is really positive. Right now, you’ve got shows presented by LBU, Cut And Run, Real Life Presents, you’ve got Broken Remains, Tombstone there’s just a lot of shows happening and there’s a healthy attendance. Kids are into it and it’s really growing. It’s important that the community and the ethics of everything continues to grow in London – and everyone supports each other.
IE: Who are the bands that are pushing UK Hardcore forward for you?
Rachel: Splitknuckle.
Louis: Yeah, definitely Splitknuckle. Guilt Trip and High Vis are doing amazing as well.
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