Bar Italia are sitting around a table at a nice restaurant in downtown Manhattan, trying to find something they agree on. Jezmi Tarik Fehmi, one of two singer-guitarists in the London trio, offers a definition of their sound: “It sounds like three people having a bit of an argument with each other.”
Singer-guitarist Sam Fenton, to his right, accepts this, but singer Nina Cristante, to his left, begs to differ. “It’s a catchy thing to say, but I don’t think it’s true,” she says.
“We argue a lot,” Fehmi says.
“We also don’t,” Cristante continues. “I know a lot of bands, and we argue very little compared to other bands.”
Fehmi is incredulous: “You’re saying ‘We’re not having an argument’ when we’re arguing!”
This push-and-pull, give-and-take, who’s-on-first energy is a big part of what’s made Bar Italia one of the most dynamic and thrilling U.K. rock bands in years. On record, each of them has an instantly identifiable vocal presence: Fenton sings with a wry reserve, Fehmi in an emotional yelp-growl, and Cristante is simply cool beyond belief. When you’re in the crowd at one of their shows, you never quite know who’s going to step up to the mic for the next verse, or whether they’re secretly furious with the person who sang the last one.
“I don’t think we’re necessarily complementary characters to each other,” Fehmi says. “We push each other’s buttons quite a lot, with love and care.”
“If you started a band with a couple of people that you just have no trouble with, really easy, I don’t know how good it would be,” Fenton adds. “And it also means that when we let loose and have fun together, we have the most fun.”
The three of them are in New York to talk about their fantastic new album, Some Like It Hot, due out Oct. 17 on Matador Records. (The fact that the LP shares a title with a classic Hollywood film about three characters getting caught up in a comical adventure is probably not a total coincidence.) “New York is my favorite place in the world,” Fehmi says. “It’s like London, but more exciting.”
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When they gathered at London’s Pony Studios in January 2024 to begin work on the new LP, they had just finished a year of relentless touring behind their first two albums for Matador, Tracey Denim and The Twits. “We were blasted by that, and then also desperate to make music again,” Fenton says.
“We were so tired,” Fehmi says. “It was just after Christmas. It was cold and miserable in London. We were just absolutely burnt out.”
“Was it miserable in London?” Cristante wonders aloud. “I can’t remember.”
They’d formed the band a few years earlier after Cristante, an Italian expat, crossed paths with Fehmi and Fenton in the building where they all lived. All of them had spent time in other bands and projects before Bar Italia, and they trusted their instincts to guide them through their early releases. There was usually no one else in the room with them; with just a few exceptions, everything they’ve released prior to this year was written, recorded, and produced by the three bandmates entirely on their own, letting their unique alchemy yield one unforgettable post-punk/Britpop/shoegaze/psychedelic hook after another.
“The previous albums were way more like hanging out,” Fehmi says. “Music was incidental.”
“Fun was more of a priority,” Fenton adds.
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“Yeah, sure, you’ll watch a film, smoke something, whatever,” Cristante says. “But at the end of the day, we did a lot of stuff in quite a short period of time.”
As their music gained a fervent online audience, people began to notice how little else Bar Italia shared with the world. When they signed to Matador in early 2023, there were no easily findable interviews with the band, and very few photos of the people behind these incredibly catchy and alluring songs. Rumors and speculation ran wild. “People didn’t even know how we looked,” Cristante says. “It created this kind of crazy momentum of, ‘When are they going to play live? Who are they going to be?’”
That summer, they played five sold-out club shows in New York, followed by five more in L.A., and even more shows after that. Not every online sensation translates IRL, but this one definitely did, with sardine-packed, sweaty rooms dancing with abandon most nights. “I remember looking at everyone, just being bewildered,” Fehmi says. “I’d never been to America before.”
“It was a very addictive feeling, and very incredible and overwhelming in a good way,” Fenton says. “But, if you’re not expecting it, you can easily lose a bit of a grip. It can go a bit twisted or strange after.”
When they regrouped in the dead of winter in London last year, they tried out a more organized way of working, bringing in touring drummer Liam Toon and a proper studio engineer to help shape the sessions. Capturing the speed and unpredictability of their live shows was an important goal; the irresistible singles “Cowbella” and “Fundraiser” came together within the first week of recording. “Everything I was drawn to felt at least five BPM or 10 BPM faster than what we’d been doing on average before,” Fenton says. “I knew I felt something new. I was curious to see where you guys were going to go with that.”
Sessions continued later in the year at Mexico City’s Panoram Studios, a light-filled space where they continued refining their sound while staying true to the eccentricities that make Bar Italia stand out in a sea of indie acts. By year’s end, they had an album that showcases a tighter, sleeker, poppier version of the band.
Or does it? This idea prompts another debate as soon as it comes up. “This might be just my opinion, but I honestly thought we were making pop songs and failing at it [before],” Cristante says. “I’m always trying to make a good, catchy pop song, actually.”
“I don’t think we all have that sensibility,” Fehmi says. “I don’t necessarily think we failed, either.”
“No, no. I’m just saying, there’s an awkwardness to some of our first songs, which I love,” she continues. “But the idea of trying to replicate that now is just bonkers. For example, people used to ask me why I didn’t come in on the one. I didn’t know what the one was!”
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“We never agree on what one is, anyway,” Fenton says.
As they prepare to release Some Like It Hot, they’re ready for whatever awaits them. “Some people might think it’s the worst thing we’ve ever made,” Fehmi says. “Some people might think it’s the best. I initially got quite scared about it the other day. I was like, ‘Oh, shit.’ But I’m proud that we haven’t made something that everyone’s going to agree on.”
