Follow Adult DVD down the rabbit hole into their rave-rock wonderland of characters
“Are we going into the fucking jungle?” blurts out Harry Hanson, clawing away leaves and branches as NME loses sight of the Adult DVD vocalist. “Have you got a machete?” smiles his bandmate Greg Lonsdale (synth), who’s on navigation duty. We’ve drifted astray at The Hollies in Leeds, a woodland area distinguished by dog walkers and tennis courts where the band once took photos. Lonsdale, who considered bringing his dog, wishes we’d filmed this directionless trek. “I feel very at peace,” shares Hanson, once the three of us find the path.
Inevitably, the main form of greenery Hanson sees nowadays is the green room. While the band have stepped up their touring exploits over the past few years, word has got around of Adult DVD’s loose, untethered riot of dance-punk. In 2023, when the Leeds group played their first international gigs at Rotterdam’s Left Of The Dial, they flew home with a European booking agent secured. Eventually, the UK caught up, as NME faced lengthy queues outside Brighton venue Komedia in both 2025 and 2026 to catch them at The Great Escape Festival.
Dictated by pulsating synth riffs, all six members have their role in the Adult DVD live show to build songs like blocks – and then slice right through the structure in one fell swoop. Crucially, they remain in control of the tension, prolonging these top lines to create a frenzy on the floor while Hanson narrates in his dry, gripping West Yorkshire accent. ‘Dogs In The Sun’ regularly turns dingy basements into chanting football stadiums, while ‘Real Tree Lee’ is organised into an animalistic marathon of acid-house. Leeds City Soundsystem, anyone?
Naturally, it’s struck a chord with the BBC 6Music contingent, and now, the kids are getting on board. “It really does feel like every show is different, in terms of who’s coming to see us,” notes Hanson. With a reputation to uphold, how do they ensure the standards remain world-class, no matter the gig? “Make sure everyone goes for a wee before – and chill out on the rider,” Hanson deadpans. “It’s a job now, isn’t it?” returns Lonsdale. “So, 100 per cent, all the time.”
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Long before the crowds flocked in, Adult DVD always looked on the bright side, functioning under the mantra “if it’s a bad gig, it’s a good practice”. Through a mutual friend, local boy Hanson met Lonsdale, who’s from Stockton-on-Tees, while working behind the bar at the Brudenell Social Club (in his words, “the best venue in the world”). When their guitar bands Glass Mountain and Uncle Buzzard fizzled out, they found each other in 2020 at a musical crossroads and took the blue pill, marching towards the world of dance music together.
“We only started hanging out when we started doing music,” reflects Lonsdale, whose taste had roots in Faithless and The Prodigy, before moving on to hardcore punk and then techno. “I was really into Mount Kimbie at the time, which is slower, more minimal, and I remember you being like, ‘Nah, LCD [Soundsystem] is the way.’” Hanson nods: “Me and Greg were both naturally gravitating towards electronic stuff, so it made even more sense for us to [start the band].”
Next, they recruited Jake Williams (synth), Hanson’s housemate Jonathan Newell (drums) and Lonsdale’s home friends Danny Blackburn (guitar, synth) and George Manson (bass) to assemble their formation of six. “We had a funny interaction with Getdown Services,” reveals Hanson. “They’re like, ‘You’re a better version of us,’ and I said, ‘You’re a financially better version of us.’” But the demands of Adult DVD’s desired sound meant downsizing members for cost-effective backing tracks was never an option. “We always said, ‘No laptop on stage.’ Partly because we’re clumsy and we’ll end up spilling a pint, but also, I think it looks shit.”
Both were guitarists from a young age, but the synths came along when Hanson studied production at Leeds Conservatoire and Lonsdale bonded with his trusty Korg Electribe – the same one he uses today. Although LCD and Soulwax provided foundational touchstones, Adult DVD found their framework by following arpeggios and riffs into the unknown and seeing where it takes them. Add their ridiculous lyrics about a supermarket ‘Cowboy On Aisle Three’ or a ‘Coffin Dodger’ who has FOMO from their own funeral, and you have something unique.
“We’ve always stressed that we’re creating our own music, not our own sound” – Harry Hanson
“We’ve always stressed that we’re creating our own music, not our own sound,” outlines Hanson. We agree, putting to him that this LCD-tinged intersection between dance and rock music runs rife throughout contemporary bands, from The Itch in Luton to Model/Actriz in NYC and Vlure in Glasgow. But why is it so resonant? Hanson doesn’t have the answers. “We’re very sure of what we’re doing, but we’re also not sure why we’re doing it.”
Visibly shaped by their live show, Adult DVD’s self-titled debut album (due September 25) – which was nearly called ‘Never Mind The Blu-Ray’ or ‘Gromit And Wallace’ – properly marks the arrival of this explicit sonic identity. Frontloaded with guitars, it eventually moulds and twists into frantic breakbeats and techno-adjacent mania (‘Ghillie Suit’, ‘Rolling Face’). “The album is like going from 10pm to 3am in 40 minutes,” summarises Hanson.
‘Coffin Dodger’ and ‘Real Tree Lee’ – which mocks “a right-wing dude who’s isolated himself” – introduce some of the album’s characters and their ginormous, self-absorbed egos. “None of these songs are written from our point of view, because people would think we were absolute dickheads,” clarifies Hanson, explaining the origins of this observational lens. “It’s totally a business tactic, so we never run out of ideas! It’s so much easier to write like that. None of us have to go through heartbreak, heartache or any trauma.”
Is music not the place for him to air out his personal baggage? “We don’t rule anything out,” he responds. “We’re not going to start doing ballads, but I think music is a good outlet for people, and it might be a good outlet for us.” “There’s always undertones – the news, people that you speak to and disagree with,” chimes in Lonsdale, who freelances in film and TV. “There’s a wide range of characters in the film industry.”
Hanson, meanwhile, works as a gig rep in Leeds, which now equips him to double up as the band’s tour manager. Does a world with no part-time jobs and uninterrupted 24/7 creativity appeal to the band? “It can work two ways, if you have too much time,” Hanson replies. “Working a job you’re not into, knowing you’ve only got three hours when you get home to write, [can help with] productivity.” “Being bored at work helps,” points out Lonsdale.
Having finished our walk, Lonsdale is off to a talent show with his parents, leaving Hanson flying solo on a day of Zoom interviews. For now, the band are relishing the debut album experience, revved up by the crowds, the social bonds they’re forming with other artists and the prospect of cultural exchange when they meet their Japanese fans. “It still feels like we’re getting paid to go on holiday, and it’s not worn off at all,” says Hanson, who’s found purpose in Adult DVD. “It sounds super lame, but it’s the only thing I really love and know.”
Adult DVD’s ‘Adult DVD’ is released September 25 via Fat Possum.
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