Following their Slam Dunk Festival set, Amped caught up with Matthew of Madina Lake to talk reunion shows, new music, and what it means to grow up alongside a fanbase.

Words by Cydnee Brook | July 03, 2026

---

Madina Lake’s return to the UK festival circuit this year carried more weight than most comebacks. Speaking to Amped after their Slam Dunk performance, their first UK show in years, followed by a sold-out headline date with Horsham Heights, Matthew reflected on an experience the band weren’t sure they’d ever get to have again.

“We were totally shocked and humbled by the audience,” he says. “When you’re in a band, you don’t know how anybody actually feels about you… We had no idea what to expect, and we were all just totally overwhelmed with joy and humility to perform for you guys.”

Matthew explained that the band always felt they’d never been able to close out that earlier era on their own terms. “We never really put a cap on it the way we wanted to,” he says, a feeling that eventually led to 2020’s EP The Beginning of New Endings, written specifically to correct that trajectory.

Fans waiting on a follow-up record have reason for optimism. “Our goal is five [songs],” Matthew confirms. “We’re three and a half songs in.” With families and reduced touring schedules now part of the picture, the band are focusing on the markets where, as Matthew puts it, “enough people wanna see us.”

For longtime fans who discovered Madina Lake as teenagers, Matthew says the relationship has never felt static. “We’re growing up in tandem with these people… It’s never felt nostalgic, which thank god, I can’t stand nostalgia.” Slam Dunk, he adds, introduced the band to a new audience too: the younger siblings and children of their earlier fans.

Asked which song he’d use to introduce a newcomer to the band, Matthew didn’t hesitate: “Heart of Gold”, a track from The Beginning of New Endings he considers among Madina Lake’s best.

Madina Lake are expected to return to the UK before the end of the year. And yes, we will be there because we need this just as much as everyone else does!