Biography | mallavora

In recent months, Mallavora have been popping up everywhere, from the stages of 2000trees, Boomtown and Burn It Down Festivals, to the catwalk at London Fashion Week where they provided the soundtrack to Unhidden's latest clothing range. Most recently, you may have heard vocalist Jessica’s incredible vocal abilities in an episode of BBC 1’s The Celebrity Traitors, a star-studded game show that features household names such as Stephen Fry, Alan Carr and Claudia Winkleman. Jess was called upon by the producers of the show to produce 'banshee-like’ wails, demonstrating her vocal range which stretches from beautiful high octave singing to the extremes of fry screaming.

All of Mallavora’s achievements led up to the announcement of their debut album 'What If Better Never Comes?', which was released on March 27th 2026 via Church Road Records. Achieving glowing reviews from Metal Hammer, Kerrang! Distorted Sound and Noizze, this record showcases the band's growth as songwriters and highlights their constant hunger to push the envelope.

"We are so proud to release our debut album, 'What If Better Never Comes?'. This record is a conceptual exploration of sickness - personal and societal - and it’s given us the space to express our experiences of difference in new and expansive ways. We hope its vulnerability, and the message it carries, brings comfort and catharsis to anyone who’s ever lived inside emotions too complex to name."

For Mallavora, the music comes first and foremost, but behind their powerful music also lies equally powerful personal stories - a fierce honesty rooted in lived experience. Guitarist Larry Sobieraj channels his own experiences of chronic illness into the band’s instrumentals.

“It’s almost like a therapy tool to process these complicated and difficult things that a lot of people don't understand, things that are hard to put into words,” he says. “I want to be able to sit there and listen to the music and feel how I felt while writing it.”

He passes his instrumentals to vocalist Jessica Douek, who uses her emotional response to the music to craft vocals. In essence, it’s a creative dialogue. “It makes it quite powerful in the sense that I can feel what he has written, and then I put that into words, associated with grief of becoming ill or losing a healthier version of yourself,” says Jessica, who is Disabled and lives with fibromyalgia. “There’s a lot of rage about societal barriers and being treated differently.”

Completed by thunderous bassist Ellis James and powerhouse drummer Sam Brownlow, Mallavora have become some of alternative music’s fiercest advocates for accessibility, committing to only headlining venues accessible enough for them and their audience. Ultimately, it’s a mantle they must take up out of necessity.

“The industry, as it currently is, isn’t sustainable for us with what we're dealing with,” says Jessica. “There’s an existential worry that we won’t be able to have the career we want unless we forge this change ourselves.” Nonetheless, this is just one facet of Mallavora’s artistry, and the band remains focused on creating music that resonates with a wide spectrum of people.

The band have just announced a UK headline tour in support of their debut album release.

It will take place in Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds and London in September. Tickets are available HERE.