Glixen always wanted to be more than a local DIY band playing shows around Phoenix, Arizona. With just two EPs to their name, one of the best new rock bands around have deservedly already played Coachella, and this weekend, they made their UK debut at Reading & Leeds.

Thing is, if you want to be in a band who take over the world, the moody world of shoegaze probably isn’t the obvious choice. "Growing up, I just fell in love with bands like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive," explains vocalist Aislinn Ritchie, whose soundtrack was previously full of Y2K pop stars Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. "Shoegaze made me feel all the emotions – sadness, anger, happiness, love, romance – and the music was a form of escaping the desert heat. It just felt exciting."

"I wanted to bring it into my world, though," she adds. And that ambition is already clear. Glixen’s first EPs were a collection of slow-burning songs that turned towards joy, while 2025’s follow-up, 'Quiet Pleasures', is snarling and more aggressive, but with glorious moments of peaceful tranquillity. It’s an evolved form of what’s been done before. "We wanted to do something that was pop but also heavy. It’s feisty and was written about a lot of change," says Aislinn.

Change is a big part of what comes next as well. "We're really trying to push what our sound can be and playing a lot more with dynamics," says guitarist Esteban Santana, who’s been inspired by Massive Attack and Bowery Electric. "Expect a lot more of that sound from us in the future."