London-based duo Worldpeace DMT, the collaborative project of Leo Fincham and Rowan Please of The Femcels, have released their new album, Stick Around For Tea. Written primarily by the pair and produced by Fincham, the record builds on the momentum of their summer mixtape, Flowers Powers, while embracing a more stripped-back approach to psychedelic pop. With sold-out North American shows on the horizon, the release marks another step forward for one of the UK’s most distinctive emerging acts.
Across Stick Around For Tea, Worldpeace DMT blend the spirit of 1960s psychedelic pop with contemporary production and an increasingly intimate songwriting style. Rather than relying on the electronic flourishes that helped define their earlier material, the duo pares back its sound, leaving more room for melody, atmosphere, and the small details that give each song its character. The result is a record that feels both unguarded and carefully considered, balancing playful experimentation with a sincere emotional undercurrent.
The album includes the previously released single “Gabriel” and follows a creative period that has seen the duo release multiple projects in quick succession. Their approach remains deliberately unpredictable, drawing on familiar musical influences without allowing nostalgia to dictate the direction of their work.
The origins of Worldpeace DMT began with Fincham’s experimental solo project, which initially involved performing pre-recorded electronic music during support slots for friends. The project had no vocals or fully developed songs, serving instead as a space for ideas that had yet to find their form. That changed after Fincham met Please in 2024.
Already involved with the indie-pop group The Femcels, Please shared a deep enthusiasm for music that helped unlock a new creative direction. During their first time spending together, the pair listened in silence to The Beach Boys’ Surf’s Up, an experience that reflected their shared appreciation for emotionally rich songwriting and unconventional pop music.
After exchanging demos, the two discovered that their individual musical instincts complemented one another.
“It was the first time in my life where I met someone whose music I could imagine existing alongside my own,” Fincham explains. “Her love of music, which I’d allowed to go more dormant in my life, made a huge impression on me. We accidentally stumbled into being a band together.”
That creative connection led to their debut album, The Velvet Underground & Rowan, released the following year. The record combined electronic details with loose, psychedelic pop arrangements, drawing comparisons to the experimental spirit of the Elephant 6 collective. For Fincham, working with Please offered a way to explore his love of 1960s pop without feeling confined by its history.
“Meeting Rowan and being influenced by her passion gave me permission to work with her on drawing from them, without feeling too retro. We were adamant on making something that felt new to us,” he says.
Earlier this year, the duo expanded that sound with Flowers Powers, a mixtape featuring songs from the same sessions as their debut. The release showcased their informal, collaborative approach to songwriting, with ideas often beginning as rough demos before developing into finished tracks.
Please describes a process that leaves room for spontaneity, explaining that she sometimes writes songs on guitar, records a rough voice note, and sends it to Fincham to develop further. One such early demo, “Say the Sky Is Grey,” made a lasting impression on her bandmate and reinforced the creative connection at the center of the project.
For Stick Around For Tea, the duo takes another step away from dense electronic arrangements. Written and recorded over the past year, the album favors a lighter, more intimate sound, recalling the understated indie-pop approach of The Vaselines while retaining the inventive songwriting that distinguishes Worldpeace DMT.
“We want to keep things fresh, interesting and inspiring,” Fincham says of the album’s direction. “The bleeps and bloops—we’ve done that already. The challenge was to find out what to fill that space with, and in a lot of cases, we didn’t fill that space with anything.”
That willingness to leave space is central to the album’s appeal. Instead of constantly adding layers, Worldpeace DMT allow melodies, vocals, and arrangements to breathe, revealing new details through repeated listens. The shift also demonstrates how the duo continues to develop its sound without abandoning the curiosity that brought the project together.
Following the album’s release, Worldpeace DMT will head to North America for a run of shows that includes sold-out performances in New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. This Sunday, October 18, the duo will also perform a special acoustic set on the [untitled] rooftop in New York City, presented with Perfectly Imperfect and streamed live on YouTube.
With a full-band tour ahead and work underway on a third album tentatively planned for next year, Worldpeace DMT are already looking toward their next creative chapter. Stick Around For Tea captures a duo comfortable with change, proving that stepping back from familiar production techniques can open up new possibilities for songwriting, collaboration, and a sound that continues to evolve.
Worldpeace DMT: Instagram | Rowan Please IG