The Maple State

Released in 2005, At Least Until We’ve Settled In marked the beginning of a whirlwind few years for Manchester’s The Maple State. This July, the band is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the record’s release with live dates in Manchester and London.

In 2005 the young band were still playing small punk-rock clubs and pubs across the north of England, when At Least Until We’ve Settled In found its way into the hands of some of the biggest names in the UK and US punk scenes – Mark Hoppus (Blink182), Brett Gurewitz (Bad Religion), Oliver Sykes (Bring me the Horizon), and the late Andy Gill (Gang of Four) all became fans of the record, while Matty Healy (The 1975) recently named it amongst his all-time favourite albums. Legendary New Wave figure Seymour Stein (Sire Records) even flew over from New York to attend a show in London, leaving a promoter rolling his eyes when the “unknown” Maple State put Mr Stein’s name down on the guest-list.

Renowned for their energetic live performances, the following three years saw the band bombarded with tour offers both in the UK and further afield. They spent much of this period on the road with bands such as Motion City Soundtrack, +44, Frank Turner, Say Anything, Minus the Bear, Fightstar, The Academy Is.., and Get.Cape.Wear.Cape.Fly, helping them to cement a name as one of the UK’s cult underground bands in their scene.

The band signed with Manchester Indie label High Voltage Sounds for their 2007 release, the Joanna EP produced by Andy Gill (Gang of Four, Killing Joke, Red Hot Chili Peppers) and went on to release the critically acclaimed Say, Scientist in February 2008. They disbanded in early 2009, before returning in 2018 with the album The Things I Heard at the Party and a string of sold-out UK dates. They are currently putting the final touches to a new album scheduled for release in the autumn.

In its original run At Least Until We’ve Settled In sold 3000 copies, but was only ever available to buy on CD at The Maple State shows during the mid 2000s. Responding to more than a decade of requests from the fans, the band finally released a digital reissue of the record in 2020, including additional unreleased recordings from the original sessions. 20 years-on from its release the band are continually delighted by the ongoing appreciation for the record and are looking forward to celebrating the 20th anniversary with fans, friends and family this summer.

The Maple State will be performing live:

18th July at The Night & Day Café, Manchester