{"id":495984,"date":"2026-06-12T12:05:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T12:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/495984\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T12:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T12:05:09","slug":"chloe-slater-tells-us-about-her-debut-album-riot-youth-and-encapsulating-that-feeling-where-it-feels-like-anything-could-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/495984\/","title":{"rendered":"Chloe Slater tells us about her debut album \u2018Riot Youth\u2019 and \u201cencapsulating that feeling where it feels like anything could change\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chloe Slater<\/a> has announced her debut album \u2018Riot Youth\u2019 with new single \u2018Southern Youth\u2019 and news of a UK tour. Check it out below as the rising indie star tells NME about the political messages on the record and backing up her music with tangible action.<\/p>\n

The Bournemouth-born, Manchester-raised musician is set to release her first full-length album on October 9 via Stolen Juice (AWAL). It follows a string of singles, last year\u2019s \u2018Love Me Please\u2019 EP, and her 2024 debut EP \u2018You Can\u2019t Put A Price On Fun\u2019.<\/p>\n

Produced by long-term collaborator Jack Shuter, alongside Ash Workman (Metronomy<\/a>, Stealing Sheep<\/a>), \u2018Riot Youth\u2019 continues Slater\u2019s politically charged writing, tackling topics ranging from the climate crisis to late-stage capitalism and the billionaire class. Its title, she explained to NME, refers to \u201ca spirit or feeling found not exclusively, but most often, in young minds and young hearts due to the absence of learned helplessness. Symptoms include a lack of apathy and an abundance of passion and belief that things can and will change\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really think young people who have only lived through a couple of election cycles and haven\u2019t been bogged down or disappointed by a major loss in the past are more likely to have that fire and that passion to keep fighting for what they want to see,\u201d Slater said of the community the album title refers to.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhereas if you\u2019ve been through 10 election cycles and every time the government gets worse and becomes more right-wing and more fascist, then you\u2019re eventually going to think, \u2018What\u2019s the point? Nothing ever changes.\u2019<\/p>\n

She continued: \u201cThere\u2019s just a certain lovely aspect to being young and not being knocked down in the way the world can knock people down that means you\u2019re more likely to go out and fight for change. I wanted this album to encapsulate that feeling of when you\u2019re younger, and it feels like anything could change.\u201d<\/p>\n

While \u2018Riot Youth\u2019 dissects societal and political issues and touches on our fear of the future (and tendency to escape into nostalgia as a response), the 23-year-old sees some reasons to stay hopeful in her generation. \u201cWhile there are some negatives to the extreme nostalgia epidemic that we\u2019re in at the moment, I think some nice parts of it are that people are switching off of their screens and trying to live more in the moment, and we\u2019re becoming more aware of what our phones and technology are doing to us,\u201d she shared.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of things to be scared of, but there are so many people who are so passionate about making a change, and I do believe that change can be made. I think Zack Polanski and the Green Party<\/a> are a great example of a party that wants real change, so I find them inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slater\u2019s songwriting has always approached the subjects she writes about from the perspective of someone navigating the complexities and pitfalls of growing up in modern society, rather than pointing a finger at others as they try to figure things out. She continues that approach on \u2018Riot Youth\u2019, like on recent single \u2018Ugly\u2019, where she admits: \u201cI\u2019m a sucker for the capitalist machine \/ I wanna buy the next fad every other week\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"ChloeChloe Slater credit: El Hardwick<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never wanted to feel like a preacher, and I\u2019m not a politician or a mega activist,\u201d she said. \u201cI am a normal person in my early twenties who has grown up in a system and will find it very difficult not to fall for some of its traps. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s working people\u2019s fault that the world is the way it is, so I don\u2019t think it should be put on them to change it all the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s the one per cent of billionaires in this world that are causing everyone else to have a shit time and the planet to die, so I wanted to make sure that, if the song is pointing a finger at anyone, it\u2019s those billionaires and corporations.\u201d<\/p>\n

An anthem about overconsumption and the trap of modern consumerism, \u2019Ugly\u2019 details being constantly bombarded with messages to buy products we don\u2019t need, and the pressure to snap up the items at the centre of viral trends as a way to distract ourselves from the real issues we\u2019re facing. \u201cBuy now, now \/ We\u2019re all gonna die \/ But you don\u2019t wanna look too close at it,\u201d Slater sings in the chorus. \u201cSo don\u2019t miss out, out \/ Save your life with a click in a next-day delivery\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy TikTok [algorithm], every other video is an ad for something that, you know what, I kind of do want!\u201d she said. \u201cGrowing up in this world, we\u2019re programmed from such a young age to want things. It\u2019s almost like religion has been replaced with consumerism and capitalism. If you get all of the best stuff, then you\u2019ve done the best \u2013 like [reaching] heaven. The commandments you live by are \u2018Buy now\u2019 and all these catchy slogans that companies are marketing to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slater\u2019s new single \u2018Southern Youth\u2019 highlights another side of her lyricism, delving into her personal story. The fizzing, longing song narrates her homesickness for her hometown of Bournemouth and how her perspective on the seaside town has changed since leaving home. \u201cI\u2019ve been quite a hyper-independent person my whole life, but I always wanted to move away and live in a city and make my own life, but even people with that mindset sometimes miss their mum,\u201d she laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI moved to the city and made this new, more confident and outgoing version of myself, but the true version of myself was that person in Bournemouth who was maybe a little bit shy, but a nice and good person.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chloe\u2018Southern Youth\u2019 artwork. Credit: Hayley Thompson<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the musician returned home as part of a run of dates visiting some of the UK\u2019s lesser-toured towns, performing in the Southbourne suburb of Bournemouth that she\u2019d grown up in. \u201cIt was cool selling out a show on the high street I walked down as a kid hundreds of times, and to have a queue of people outside a venue. It was a really full-circle moment for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

In November, Slater will head back out on another headline tour of the UK, Ireland and Europe, kicking off at Southampton\u2019s Papillon on November 3. The new string of shows includes her biggest headline gig to date, at London\u2019s Scala on November 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so excited [for Scala],\u201d Slater said. \u201cMy last London headline, which is my biggest one so far, was at the Garage, and that was an amazing experience. It just blew me away. I just get this feeling of, \u2018I can\u2019t believe that everyone is there for me\u2019\u2026 I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll ever believe it. I\u2019m so excited to play these new songs live \u2013 I think we\u2019re really going to take it up a notch, and I\u2019m really excited to start planning the shows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked what she plans to take from recent support slots with the likes of Role Model<\/a> and Alessi Rose<\/a> into her new headline gigs, Slater replied: \u201cWhen I was touring with Role Model, just watching his fans sing every single word back to him every night, and seeing him give it his all, was just really inspiring. I think that kind of connection with the fans [is something] I definitely want to bring.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u2018Riot Youth\u2019 tour will partner with Music Declares Emergency\u2019s Plus 1 initiative, which will see \u00a31 from every ticket sold being donated in support of the campaign\u2019s climate action measures. The move follows Slater hosting a beach sweep with fans before a recent Brighton gig \u2013 both evidence of the artist backing up the messages in her music with tangible, meaningful collective action.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want everything to be about the music, but the message of the music is pretty political,\u201d she reasoned. \u201cI don\u2019t feel obligated to do these things, but I think it\u2019s nice that I\u2019m in the position to have the opportunity to do them \u2013 to do a beach clean before I do a beach gig and have loads of people come, and it is such a nice way to build community, which is needed now more than ever. To have a positive impact on the environment is great \u2013 it\u2019s a cause that I really care about and I think is one of the most important things to care about. Everything is impacted by the environment and if we don\u2019t work towards limiting climate change, then the impact on all humans and animals and ecosystems is awful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chloe Slater\u2019s \u2018Riot Youth\u2019 will be released on October 9 via Stolen Juice (AWAL). Check out the full tracklist below and visit here<\/a> to pre-order.<\/p>\n

\u2018Mother Nature\u2019s Killing Spree\u2019
\u2018Can I Finish Please\u2019
\u2018The Underground\u2019
\u2018I\u2019ve Never Felt So Hated\u2019
\u2018Southern Youth\u2019
\u2018Go Outside\u2019
\u2018Get Me Out\u2019
\u2018Helpless\u2019
\u2018Ugly\u2019
\u2018Let It Happen\u2019<\/p>\n

Tickets for the \u2018Riot Youth\u2019 headline tour go on pre-sale at 10am BST on June 17, with a general sale to follow at 10am BST on June 19. Visit here<\/a> for tickets and more information.<\/p>\n

NOVEMBER
3 \u2013 Southampton, Papillon
4 \u2013\u00a0Portsmouth, KOLA
5 \u2013\u00a0Cambridge, The Portland Arms
7 \u2013\u00a0Norwich, The Waterfront Studio
9 \u2013 Bristol, The Lanes
10 \u2013 London, Scala
11 \u2013 Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
12 \u2013 Birmingham, O2 Institute 3
14 \u2013 Manchester, Club Academy
15\u00a0\u2013 Leeds, The Wardrobe
17 \u2013 Newcastle, Cluny 2
18\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Glasgow, King Tut\u2019s
19 \u2013\u00a0Dublin, Academy Green Room
20 \u2013 Belfast, Voodoo
23 \u2013 Paris, Badaboum
24 \u2013\u00a0Amsterdam, Bitterzoet
25 \u2013 Brussels, Botanique (Museum)
27 \u2013 Cologne, Yard Club at Kantine
28 \u2013 Hamburg, Hebeb\u00fchne
29 \u2013 Copenhagen, Ideal Bar<\/p>\n

DECEMBER<\/p>\n

1 \u2013 Berlin, Maschinenhaus
2 \u2013 Prague, Caf\u00e9 v Lese
3\u00a0\u2013 Vienna, B72
5 \u2013\u00a0Munich, Rote Sonne
6 \u2013\u00a0Zurich, Exil
7 \u2013 Milan, Circolo Arci Bellezza<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chloe Slater has announced her debut album \u2018Riot Youth\u2019 with new single \u2018Southern Youth\u2019 and news of a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":495985,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[93,61,636,60,278],"class_list":["post-495984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-indie","tag-ireland","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=495984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495984\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}