Utterly Fuzzled All Dayer – York – Mammoth Penguins + more
We loved the first Utterly Fuzzled all dayer back in May and this autumn edition was just as much fun. Community, connection, and joy on the dancefloor with indiepop, indie rock, and just enough experimental sound.
Line up: Mammoth Penguins, Knitting Circle, All Ashore!, St Christopher, Orchard, Troutflies
Venue: Fulfordgate Club, York
Date: 18 October 2025
There is a chill starting in the air, and the sky is already starting to darken as you make your way to Fulford, a suburb of York. Stepping through the doors of the Working Men’s Club, the Fulfordgate, you can hear a gong resonating from within. You already know you’re here for something special.
And you really are.
Utterly Fuzzled All Dayer – October 2025
Still fairly new as promoters in York – this is their fourth event in total – Utterly Fuzzled have already nurtured a wonderful community into existence. Not only have they revived the club as a live music venue, but they’ve created a space overflowing with DIY ethos, kindness and respect.
They also know how to put together a cracking line-up. Their first Utterly Fuzzled all dayer back in ay 2025 gave us Crumbs, Irked and Slime City in quick order and today is no less exciting or impressive.
The gong sounds between each band to call us all back to the main room with warmth and shimmer. and beyond the dance floor among the red velvet drapes of the corner stage the magic of music to unite and delight begins.
Troutflies
There is no gentle introduction to the day, but rather things kick off with experimental noise pop from duo Troutflies. There is hypnotising spiralling guitar but as you quickly as you sink into it you’re battered back to reality by discordant melodica, haunted by the looping refrains played from a cassette recorder on the table between the pair.
This is music in the loosest sense, but also the purest. It’s noise making, at times challenging, at times absolutely feral breakdowns where everything is thrown into the mix, before it gets drawn back and into quieter, more orderly passages.
Somewhat of a surprise to open the day, they set the scene for a line up resonating with authenticity and showing that music can be more than your standard line-up of rhythm and guitars.
Orchard
A late substitution to the line-up due to seasonal sickness but one which meant we all got a real treat. Scarbourough duo Orchard deliver an incredible aural assault from the first note. This is politically-driven punk with rhythms that ricochet around the melodic alt-rock guitars.
They deliver polemics between songs; a mix of those from 2023 album ‘Til You Fall Down and from their imminent release Argentum. If you like your punk played loud and unapologetically political, and indie rock guitars as an offer of contrast then make sure you’re giving this band a listen asap.
This band too is true to themselves, and by now – still only tea time – the Utterly Fuzzled all dayer has already made good on bringing a brilliant selection of artists to your attention.
St Christopher
Stalwarts of the indie scene St Christopher are up next. Having released singles and a mini album through Sarah Records as the ’80s became the ’90s the York band has also had releases through a slew of indie labels across their 40 year career – Elefant, Cherry Red, Slumberland, and Vinyl Japan.
Their set chimes with that melodic indie sound so associated with the 1980s, but in a timeless rather than purely nostalgic way. Glenn Melia’s distinctive vocal holds sway over sparkly guitars, and the echoey vibes that period of their recorded output lent in to.
A reminder of indiepop past for some, an introduction to a classic sound for others.
All Ashore!
Talking of classic indiepop, here’s Sheffield’s All Ashore!
When we say this band are classic we mean in the sense it’s a rush of joy, the flutter of infatuation, the shambolic of pure DIY ethos, and a sound that is sweet, jangly and about being in it all-together. There is the playfulness that comes from the variety of instrumentation, and the exuberance that comes from shared vocals.
Yes, it’s twee, but in our book that’s a good thing. What All Ashore! do they do oh so well, and in a brilliantly jolly set they sail with us on marvellously melodic seas.
Knitting Circle
Now performing as a three-piece Knitting Circle still have conviction, melody, and power by the ton. They give us slightly re-arranged versions of tracks from 2024 EP Deciduous Climbers, and for every one the energy they put in is reciprocated fully by those on the dance floor in front of them.
We also get a couple of new tracks, both reflecting the issues of the world and giving massive melodic guitar and a blistering chase of rhythms to socially conscious lyrical mastery. Among set highlights are Isobel, with breathlessly tumbling drums and churning guitar (surely a future single), and Losing My Eggs, their angular anthem about the menopause.
It’s a storming set from a band already smashing it and just getting better. Catch them wherever and whenever you can.
Mammoth Penguins
A classic set from indiepop favourites Mammoth Penguins perfectly showcasing their knack for expressing vulnerability without being anything less than compellingly danceable. Drawing from their decade-deep back catalogue we get tracks from 2015 debut Hide and Seek, their most recent long player 2024’s Here, and select spots in between.
While they’ve been off the live circuit for a while due to being in writing mode, the break doesn’t show as they easily hold the crowd’s attention and their adoration. The dance floor stays full, the songs soar. Often poetic, and beautiful even when the lyric errs toward blunt, they expose the inner monologue and processing of love and friendship in Emma Kupa’s distinctive vocal.
From the scrappy mix of punky rhythms and sweet guitars of Cries At The Movies to the smooth and country-tinted Blue Plaque this is a set of grit and glory, of a well-loved band making a welcome return to the live circuit. And they’re a brilliant closer to this wonderful day – just as they should leaving us both satisfied we’ve found where we belong, and already looking forward to the next chance to fill our hearts this way.
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Find the artists on Bandcamp (and from their on social media):
Image: Pete Darrington
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Sarah Lay
A long-standing music journalist she's also co-founder of independent record label Reckless Yes, an author of novels, and when not messing around with words and music, a digital strategist.
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