Overpass say covering Harry Styles is shaping their new music: “We’d like to do something outrageous”

Overpass told NME that recording their cover of Harry Styles’ ‘American Girls’ mash-up with Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’ is influencing how they write new music, as they try to push beyond their usual indie sound. The band said the experiment has encouraged them to think more boldly about song structure and style, which matters because it points to a more adventurous direction after their debut album and shows how they want to keep evolving while staying relatable to fans.

The Birmingham band spoke backstage at Mad Cool 2026, shortly after releasing their 10-track debut album ‘Elsewhere, Always’ in June, following their 2025 EP ‘Dependent’. They said festival audiences across Europe have responded warmly even in markets where listeners do not yet know every word, while UK singalongs have felt especially significant. Frontman Max Newbold said the album’s themes of self-doubt, burnout and hustle culture were meant to be widely relatable, and bassist India Armstrong said analysing the Harry Styles track as if they were writing an original song has already fed into new material, with the band hoping to do “something outrageous”.