The second record from the Bristol art-rockers, Back Into The Womb’s birth comes at a time when women are either treated as theapists, infants or as mere items to be used at the whim of men. It also arrives at a time when art, regardless of its medium, is being violated by dead-eyed industrialists in the pursuit of profits or nefarious projects. Hallmarks of a dark timeline, regardless of this ongoing blistering heatwave, indeed. But whilst this is a record that addresses the ever-present want to hibernate until the world rids itself of such evils, it’s also one that knows that change won’t come without action and art.
Formed of Aisling Whiting (Vocals), Toby Green (Drums), Charles Barnes (Guitar) and Benjamin Harris (Bass), here, Sans Froid utilise a wonderfully mercurial sound to narrate personal experiences of such themes. Sounding akin to Bjork, Peach, The Mars Volta, and CLT DRP fusing in utero, Back Into The Womb is an unflinching exploration of one’s place in a fractured and pressurising world that’s expressed with unapologetic musical charisma. Long-time fans may note that this record might be more approachable than their jangly debut Hello, Boil Brain, but with the band’s inherent musical weirdness still evident, this proves to be a record that articulates its themes with greater charisma. It’s something that results in Back Into The Womb being one of the most striking, exciting and poignant experimental releases of this year thus far.
With that in mind, and with Back Into The Womb out today via Church Road Records, we got in touch with Aisling Whiting to break down the record, track by track.
Go On
“The first tune that was a full splicing of ideas, Toby brought the catchy keys riff to a practice where we began embellishing the tune. After a few practices, we weren’t getting too far past the first section. I then sat with it at home (with some gin tins) and wrote some of the other sections, which we collectively structured at practice! To be fair, it was one of the quickest tunes to finish and is one of our faves to play! Lyrically, the song turned out to be about having to work extra hard as a woman in heavy(ish) music, and feeling the need to overcompensate / overanalyze situations that we really shouldn’t have to.”
Pros & Constants
“This song was a headfuck to write, which is hilarious because it’s probably one of our most simple tunes. I wrote the main synth riff when I bought my new keys, around the time that ‘Hello, Boil Brain’ came out. We tried a few different ideas across the following months but nothing felt right so we kept parking it, I got really frustrated that we just couldn’t seem to get the fucking thing finished. Until, knight in shining armour and silent fifth member Ben Green came to a pre-prod practice in the lead up to recording Back into the Womb, he basically pulled it apart and put it back together like a magical puzzle and we all did a cry when we heard the finished recording back in the studio. So, very glad we stuck at it!
I feel like this song really came alive with harmonies & additional layers of guitar played by Ben & Charlie in the studio. The vocal theme for this song narrates being way further behind in life than where you thought you’d be when you were a nipper, but also just kind of finding peace with it and running at your own pace.”
