Manchester singer Chloe Slater has spoken about feeling "desensitised" by politics and social media, in an interview with NME at the Mad Cool festival in Madrid ahead of her debut album "Riot Youth", due for release on 9 October. She explained that the record explores the disillusionment of pushing for political change without seeing results, and reflects on how the constant flow of shocking news online dulls people's reactions to it, a feeling she believes applies to people of any age, not just the young.

Slater said the album's title stems from a lyric on the track "Hopeless", inspired by the gap between youthful idealism and the reality of repeated voting and protest failing to bring change. Asked whether Andy Burnham replacing Keir Starmer as Prime Minister might improve matters, she was sceptical, joking about the unpredictability of current events, including satirical figure Count Binface. She urged people to filter their news intake, favouring trusted outlets over constant social media exposure, arguing that desensitisation makes it harder to feel the shock needed to drive real change.