As a queer person growing up in the midst of the global transitionary period between the late 90’s and the infancy of the 2000’s, unconsciously searching for my “tribe” in a socially heteronormative society; mainstream media always seemed to boil gayness down to a one dimensional caricature, which in all honesty is probably why the experience of “othering” and all out abuse came thick and fast in the early years of my academic career. Even a hint of gayness became a point of mental contention due to a hinted culture war, emboldened by political discourse and religious persecution instilling heavy doses of internalised homophobia; that is until the Muscovite Europop duo t.A.T.u shocked the world with the release of the electronica based alt rock smash hit ‘All The Things She Said’.
The track’s lyrical content conjured images of Shakespearean star-crossed lovers and the yearnings for accepted liberation from the throes of suppression, while its video became scandalous due to its overt use of sexually charged imagery, which included the duo in soaked school girl outfits, locked behind a seemingly endless wire fence all the while making out in front of a disapproving elderly crowd.
The video’s symbolism surrounding the proudness of public displays of affection for queer people (besides many other alternatives), quickly gained contemporary cult classic status, which now and even then felt immensely ironic considering the long-standing and at times brutal anti-gay sentiments expressed by Russia. It was in a way trailblazing for these young women to express their overt sexuality in a way that the majority of the western world found either extremely uncomfortable or intriguingly confronting.
As the globe marvelled or in other cases condemned t.A.T.u’s unapologetic appeal; details about the band’s supposed gayness being nothing more than a marketing ploy proposed by producer Ivan Shapovalov, began to enter the public consciousness when a behind-the-scenes documentary entitled Anatomy of t.A.T.u confirmed that both singers Lena Katina and Julia Volkova were both heterosexual.
After the initial revelation of purposeful deception came to light, the band would eventually hit out at their long time producer in the midst of the rumours of the band’s dissolution; Volkova had stated “(Shapovalov) spends his time thinking up scandals instead of planning our artistic work…”, while Katina followed up that the disgraced producer “…made us out to BE lesbians when we were just singing FOR lesbians. We wanted people to understand them and not judge them. That they are as free as anyone else”.
After seeping from beneath the streets of Bristol and becoming one of the most unequivocally promising bands in progressive contemporary music, Sugar Horse are heralding their most exciting arc thus far with ‘Disco Loadout’. The lead single of their upcoming collaborative EP Waterloo Teeth, ‘Disco Loadout’ see’s Sugar Horse teaming up with Debbie Gould of Heriot, Damien Sayell of The St Pierre Snake Invasion / Mclusky and Matt Lovebridge of MXLX to deliver an atonal, phlegm-flying barrage of dissonance that’s a total tonal shift from the slow and glacial majesty of their previous work. It’s snotty and vulgar, but one that hints towards the mercurial soundscape of Waterloo Teeth. Featuring further collaborations with members of Pupil Slicer, Conjurer, Wych Elm, Idles, Black Peaks, Biffy Clyro and more, the EP is poised to see Sugar Horse further expanding their wide-angled lens to deliver another majestically bleak celebration of nonconformity in the most grim of keys. – Dan Hillier
The latest single from the ever-mercurial Brighton electro-punks CLT DRP, ‘Aftermath’ is brooding yet incredibly poignant narration on the internalised guilt that can follow in the wake of sexual assault and gendered violence. Whilst the track is a far more withheld affair than their typically confrontational and combative work, the track’s measured pacing only allows the lyrical themes to take the forefront, further shining light on a harrowing plague of violence that many chose to play ignorant or passive to. It’s not easy listening – but that’s the entire point. It’s a track that seeps into your pores, thrusting the issue of sexual violence into one’s cerebral cortex. ‘Aftermath’ will be released physically 7th October via Small Pond Records on a limited 7” also featuring a cover of the song by Mercury Prize nominated act The Big Moon. – Dan Hillier
What’s next? That’s the question post-metallers Bossk found themselves asking after the release of acclaimed recent album Migration, completed during COVID during which longtime collaborator Etsuo Endon passed away. To find the answer to that, they invited fellow post-metal troupe Pijn to collaborate with them on a reimagining of ‘Kobe’ taken from Migration’s predecessor, Audio Noir. Where the original used effects-driven guitars, ‘Kobe x Pijn’ instead utilises violin drones to truly take it into Pijn‘s string-led world. The end result is a lot folkier than you might expect, but no less compelling or heavy for it. The main melody call-and-response between violin and guitar is a stroke of genius in particular that elevates it from an already great song into the vaunted halls of collaborations and reimaginings that truly work and bring out the best in either band. – Will Marshall
The fifth and final single to be taken from the group’s upcoming record The Hum Goes On Forever – released September 23rd via Hopeless Records – ‘Old Friends Like Lost Teeth’ see’s Philadelphia’s finest The Wonder Years once again reflecting on another friend tragically lost too soon. Expressed by the group’s own homegrown sound and soulfully narrated via Dan Campbell’s immersive lyricism, the track is a gut-wrenching and heartbreaking ode that once again see’s The Wonder Years furthering their skill in storytelling and perfecting their take on pop-punk that’s miles removed from the negative stereotypes that plague the genre. “As much as I try not to dwell on loss, I can’t help myself from thinking about it, writing about it, singing about it”, Dan explains. “This is a song for another friend who passed too soon and about how I wish I could stop myself from opening the sutures, about how I know it’ll be painful to play live, and how powerless I am to do anything else.” – Dan Hillier
The 5-piece have only been together as a performing band for a matter of months, so according to vocalist James to play Bloodstock is “completely surreal…We didn’t know what to expect at all, but the tent was full, people were circle pitting.. it was amazing!”
With bands like Lorna Shore, Cattle Decapitation and Behemoth on the lineup this year they had the chance to convert a lot of new fans. James says he “wouldn’t describe (the band) as blackened per se, but we are definitely influenced by the dark theatricality of those bands. Our new music definitely has some serious Evangelion era Behemoth vibes.” He isn’t wrong, with the vitriol of the angriest death metal paired with an enormous atmospheric side, Draconian Reign have forged a sound that is just as impressive live as it is brutal on record
KEN Mode have long held a reputation for being one of the most unsettling acts within heavy music. However, ‘Unresponsive’ is harrowing even among a discography bounded by misery. The third track to be taken from their upcoming record NULL – released September 23rd via Artoffact Records – ‘Unresponsive’ is a tormented, broken and wholly defeated soliloquy from a mind most shattered. As frontman Jesse Matthewson possessively chants “Forgotten, erased, unresponsive, replaced, abandoned” against mechanical droning and flourishes of discordant cellos, it’s impossible not the absorbed by the lightless misery that propels this industrial mire of a mantra. ‘Unresponsive’ truly feels dangerously unhinged, and as Matthewson explains, the song came from the one of the darkest periods of the pandemic. “At this phase of the pandemic I had begun having dreams about my partner leaving me and my family dying, probably five nights a week, for several months”, states Matthewson on the track. “I sat there, writing the lyrics to this one while listening to a rolling storm come in, that never seemed to actually reach a crescendo. It all felt too apt for the way everything had been feeling for the last year at that point.” – Dan Hillier
After carving out their own oeuvre within digital space and getting the attention of Prosthetic Records, the international and infamous cybergrind collective Thotcrime are back with another drilling single in the form of ‘Critical Codependence’. The second slice to be taken from their upcoming debut full length D1G1T4L_DR1FT, the single see’s the band collaborating with the Ohio pop artist diana starshine to offer something a bit more complicit and pop orientated than their typically annihilating work. Regardless, ‘Critical Codependence’ still retains all the sass ,nonconformity and full frontal confrontation that originally made Thotcrime not only helplessly alluring the leading name in cybergrind. – Dan Hillier
Celebrating their signing with SharpTone Records, 00s metalcore revivalists Foreign Hands released standalone single ‘Chlorine Tears’, also marking their first collaboration with producer extraordinaire Will Putney. Their softly-spoken fused with apoplectic screams approach sounds more cohesive and bigger than ever thanks to Putney’s production and the band’s own writing has truly been pushed to a new level, thanks in part to the band knowing they were due to record and needing to get the song finished. Featuring feverish guitars, battering drums and the emotional lyricism that made Bleed The Dream such a lauded EP, ‘Chlorine Tears’ is the sound of a band exploring and refining their sound further and keeps them firmly near the top of modern metalcore’s most exciting new bands. – Will Marshall
What do you get when mixing Britpop, metal, flourishes of indie and a thoroughly British sense of whimsy? Well, Bristolian quartet Phoxjaw are all that and more. Following on from their 2020 debut Royal Swan, the band have announced its followup notvernicecream and released their latest single, ‘thesaddestsongever’. Where Royal Swan was all extroversion, ‘thesaddestsongever’ is far more introspective, drawing on the softer edges of their sound for a more morose and nihilistic examination of their own inner worlds. Its accompanying music video is no less arresting, juxtaposing the morose nature of the song and its musings with lush, colourful visuals. It’s a promise that Phoxjaw are no less mercurial than before and have only broadened their already expansive sonic palette. – Will Marshall
From their latest tour with Within Destruction to the new single Lilac, the band has been busy climbing the scene and flexing their muscles in the UK and Europe. Monasteries recently got back from a UK tour with Within Destruction, with Davies describing the run as “A dream come true.” He’s visibly stoked when looking back at the tour, saying “It surpassed all expectations and we honestly couldn’t pick favourite dates from them all!” It looked it too, those who kept an eye on the band’s socials would have seen the packed shows and hectic moshpits.
Arguably the premier festival for all things math, post, noise and generally experimental rock, ArcTanGent Festival is back with it’s biggest lineup to date. Headlined by Cult Of Luna, Tesseract and Opeth, the weekend is set to host some of the most prestigious names in the global scene, with the acts from all four corners from the globe descending upon Bristol for the weekend. But of course, we don’t need to persuade you that you need to see the headliners, or the likes of Maybeshewill, Zeal & Ardor, The Armed, Amenra, Caspain or Bossk. Nor do we need to tell you catch our favourites in Ithaca, Sugar Horse, Heriot, The St Pierre Snake Invasion or MØL. But beneath the headliners and gargantuan names lies some of the best and most dynamic emerging talent to be found within the experimental rock scene. With that in mind, here’s 10 bands you may not have heard of that are crucial viewing at this years ArcTanGent.
Previously going under the moniker of Flat Earth Society before acronyming their name after being contacted by one too many conspiracy theorists – yes, really – FES follow in the footsteps of acts such as Orchards, Tricot, Fish Tank and Signals to deliver sweet math-pop in it’s most uncompromised form. Whilst their brilliant LP debut With Regards From Home proved their sugar-infused dynamism, their live show is where this all becomes paramount, with recent appearances with the likes of Standards, Last Hyena and Delta Sleep being masterclasses in the genre that resonate a sense of infectious energy. Look, they’ve also been endorsed by Paramore’s own Hayley Williams, and if they’re good enough for her they’re definitely good enough for you.
Named after the very real and very fatal disease that causes total discombobulation, Skin Failure is the latest project formed of members of Memory Of Elephants and Black Peaks. As their name subtly implies, the band’s game is gnarled thrash in it’s most flesh-tearing form, harkening back to the classics of the genre whilst still brining a sense of progression to the table. They’ve only released one track thus far and have only played one set to date – a secret set with Benzo Queen no less – but make sure to get yourself down to the Bixler stage nice and early Thursday to hear the pipes of Will Gardner once again.
Don’t bother attempting to find Bruit ≤ on streaming services; you won’t find them. Born from a disdain of the modern music industry, the French post-rock collective hold their sociopolitical ideals and creative and ideological integrity above all else, producing work that is not intended to be a disposable commodity or restricted by industry regulations. This may sound a touch pretentious given the history of bands stating similar mission statements, but what separates Bruit ≤ from their peers is how their ardent ethos is palpable within their inspired work. The band subvert the conventions of post-rock to create art that’s cinematic, impossibly expansive and strikingly emotive. From modern classical to ambient electronica, Bruit ≤ borrow elements from a spectrum of sounds to weave a rich tapestry of sound that counteracts the notion that post-rock is a genre lacking in innovation. Simply, if you have even the slightest penchant for post-rock in it’s most immersive and boundless form, this isn’t a set to miss.
