{"id":693387,"date":"2026-07-15T17:50:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T17:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/693387\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T17:50:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T17:50:16","slug":"overpass-say-covering-harry-styles-is-shaping-their-new-music-wed-like-to-do-something-outrageous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/693387\/","title":{"rendered":"Overpass say covering Harry Styles is shaping their new music: \u201cWe\u2019d like to do something outrageous\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overpass<\/a> have spoken to NME about their cover of Harry Styles<\/a>\u2019 \u2018American Girls\u2019 and how it\u2019s helping them to tap into a new way of songwriting. Watch the interview in full above.<\/p>\n

The rising Birmingham indie stars caught up with NME backstage at Mad Cool 2026<\/a>, shortly before they took to the stage in the Mahou Reserva tent on Saturday night (July 11).<\/p>\n

Their slot at the Madrid festival came on the heels of them releasing \u2018Elsewhere, Always<\/a>\u2019 last month \u2013 their highly anticipated debut album and the follow-up to the 2025 EP \u2018Dependent\u2019.<\/p>\n

Discussing what it has been like to see the response from fans at festivals across Europe this summer, singer and guitarist Max Newbold explained that the record was already going further than \u201cwhere we thought it was going to take us\u201d.<\/p>\n

Bassist India Armstrong agreed: \u201cWe\u2019ve done a few overseas festivals so far, and because we\u2019re still quite new to this market, people won\u2019t necessarily know all the words\u2026 But still it\u2019s been great to see people really buzzing for it. In the UK especially, it has been so special. In the few shows we\u2019ve done so far since the album has been out, it\u2019s been really nice to hear people singing along.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of that connection, they explained, was from the relatable subject matter tackled across the 10 tracks on the album, which explored the feeling of self-doubt, burnout and the toxicity of \u201chustle culture\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was about getting something off our chest, in a way,\u201d Newbold said when asked why they wanted to integrate those themes into their music. \u201cEveryone has those kinds of feelings, where you\u2019re still figuring out what you want to do. So for us, writing about it in a way that everyone could understand was really important. That\u2019s how you get a connection with people, and then the gigs feel that bit more special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since releasing the debut album, Overpass have also got fans talking with their cover of Harry Styles\u2019 mashup of \u2018American Girls\u2019 and Underworld<\/a>\u2019s techno classic \u2018Born Slippy\u2019, which they recorded for BBC Radio 1\u2019s Future Artists.<\/p>\n

Explaining what drew them to put their own spin on the track \u2013 which Styles has been playing regularly at his huge \u2018Together, Together Tour\u2019<\/a> \u2013 Newbold revealed that it was because they had been listening to the \u2018Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally<\/a>\u2018 song \u201cfor ages now\u201d and were intrigued by the idea of doing \u201csomething a bit poppier\u201d than they were used to.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to do it in our style because the covers we usually like are the ones where they mix them up and add something that you wouldn\u2019t expect in there. So we gave it a go and we think it came across alright,\u201d the singer shared. \u201cWe approached it like \u2018If Kings Of Leon<\/a> were going to do this as a cover, or U2<\/a>, what would they do?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

That determination to step outside their comfort zone has already started to shape their songwriting style too, Armstrong explained, adding that they have started writing new material to follow up their debut album.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we were deciding what song to choose, we were starting to learn the structure of it. We wanted to try and work it out as if we were writing a new song,\u201d she shared. \u201cBecause it is like a pop\/dance song, it was hard to get our heads around what Harry was doing there, so we thought \u2018OK, let\u2019s try and strip this back a bit and work it out in our own way.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Drummer Jake Bishop continued, saying that the band have become intrigued by the idea of doing \u201csomething more outrageous\u201d and \u201csomething that people think we\u2019d never play\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cRhythmically, now [\u2018American Girls\u2019] is pretty similar to what we\u2019re writing at the moment,\u201d he added. \u201cSo to take inspiration from those kinds of songs\u2026 it\u2019s definitely there.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for when to expect the new music, Armstrong said that while it is \u201cstill quite early days\u201d, they have been \u201cwriting a lot\u201d and are determined to stay \u201cinspired and creative\u201d, having just put their first album out.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully we\u2019ll get something together soon,\u201d she said, and the frontman added that they were \u201cjust itching to get back into the studio\u201d as soon as they can.<\/p>\n

You can revisit all of NME\u2019s coverage from Mad Cool 2026 here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

NME is the official media partner of Mad Cool.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Overpass have spoken to NME about their cover of Harry Styles\u2019 \u2018American Girls\u2019 and how it\u2019s helping them…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":693388,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,3583,128,1581,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-693387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-indie","tag-music","tag-pop","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=693387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/693388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=693387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=693387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=693387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}