Nik Havert

Firebreather return with “Creed” – the new single from their upcoming album “Dwell in the Fog.”

Swedish trio Firebreather share a new track today from their forthcoming album Dwell In The Fog via Metal Injection. Hear and share “Creed” HERE. (Direct YouTube and Bandcamp.)

Revolver Magazine previously shared the first single “Kiss Of Your Blade” HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

Gothenburg, Sweden trio Firebreather’s 2019 RidingEasy Records debut album Under a Blood Moon was a powerhouse that most certainly established the band’s incendiary potential. But none of us would be prepared for the suffocating onslaught that is Dwell in the Fog. While that album was in-your-face and raw, Dwell in the Fog rumbles and rages with a fury the band had only hinted at previously.
Firebreather has a streamlined focus on driving, symphonic riffs in the vein of High on Fire, Inter Arma and their tour- and label-mates Monolord. The guitar and bass tones are, quite simply, entrancing. Paired with vocalist/guitarist Mattias Nööjd’s guttural yet melodic howls and drummer Axel Wittbeck’s groove based rhythms, their entire sound flows like thick, viscous lava.

“The album is a cathartic journey inwards and a musical continuation from Under A Blood Moon, but with more emphasis on groove and feel,” Nööjd says. From the first notes of album opener “Kiss Of Your Blade” you’ll know exactly what he means.
Like their preceding two albums, Dwell in the Fog was also recorded and mixed by engineer Oskar Karlsson at Elementstudion in Gothenburg. The band is joined by new bassist Nicklas Hellqvist on this album, who seems to have increased the thunder rumble tenfold.

From the aforementioned album opener “Kiss Of Your Blade”, with its droning opening chords over a rollicking tom pattern, the band quickly shifts gears into a head bobbing, serpentine riff with a transcendent melodic hook. Elsewhere, as on the title track and “Weather The Storm” rapid-fire hummable riffs come and go in an ever-shifting mass of devastating swirling churn. It’s like the band has such an endless supply of great hooks that to, ahem, dwell for too long on any one would undo their constantly building momentum. That they somehow give each song, and the album as a whole, a streamlined and cohesive, monolithic groove is testament to their skill. And, proof that the album must be absorbed in its entirety to experience the overwhelming swaying and lunging low end growl that drives the band’s most captivating work to date.

Dwell in the Fog will be available on LP, CD and download on February 25th, 2022 via RidingEasy Records.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Dave at US / THEM Group.]

Author & Punisher release “Maiden Star” from upcoming album.

Author & Punisher unveil a second track from the outfit’s highly-anticipated new album, Krüller (Feb. 11, Relapse Records), with today’s release of the drone-drenched love song, “Maiden Star” (https://youtu.be/c52RTO8fvL0).

Tristan Shone offers insight into the track and its place on the album: “’Maiden Star’ continues the trudge of escape and survival from ‘Drone Carrying Dread,’ but with a focus on the vital interpersonal conflicts and triumphs that exist in times of war and peace. This track, my personal favorite from the balance of the heavy and the melodic, is deeply personal and painful at the same time. The first note both lifts me up and beats the shit out of me.”

News of the album’s forthcoming arrival was met with widespread excitement. Revolver, who had placed on the album on their most-anticipated releases of 2022, noted how “shimmering, melodic, and gorgeous” Author & Punisher’s music had become over the years. On the first preview from the 8-song release, “Drone Carrying Dread” (https://youtu.be/5BrAAXCbUXE), Consequence echoed the obvious focus on melody that drives Krüller, saying “The presence of electronic beats, synth flourishes, and a triumphant vocal delivery make it one of the prettiest A&P tracks to date, though no less sonically powerful.

Shone began work on Krüller after returning from his opening slot with Tool across the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand, before being cut short due to the March 2020 lockdowns. “Melody has been and is still a part of my sound,” says Shone. “I’ve always bathed them in a lot of reverb, delay, and distortion, though. This time around, I was bothered by the wall of distortion I had created. I wanted a little more clarity. I wanted to refine the sound. I wanted to step back from my own show and analyze it a bit. I had all these competing distortions that I wanted to streamline. I like contrast and wanted the vocals to be immediately noticeable. There’s something about mixing punishing drones and rumble with a mellow thing on top that I really like on Krüller.” Shone’s digitized snarls rightfully had their place on earlier tracks like “Doppler,” “Terrorbird,” and “Nihil Strength,” but contrasting mellow vocals atop Author & Punisher’s unparalleled heft made dynamic sense. Indeed, with Shone’s singing on songs like “Drone Carrying Dread,” “Maiden Star,” and the exceptional translation of Portishead hit “Glory Box,” Author & Punisher have projected an air of uncertainty around the steely, often slow-motion grind.

Part of the Krüller revamp included refining the machines that have become synonymous with Author & Punisher. As a result, Shone is also launching a bespoke audio gear company called Drone Machines to coincide with the release of Krüller. The gear company launch follows nearly two decades of Author & Punisher honing in on his craft – meticulously inventing, machining, experimenting, and creating custom musical instruments for his incredible live performances and recordings.

Krüller pre-orders are available now (https://orcd.co/authorandpunisher-kruller) with the 52-minute collection available on a selection of limited-edition vinyl variants that tie into the color palette of the album artwork, CD, cassette and digitally.

Author & Punisher has announced two rounds of 2022 European tour dates with a pair of North American performances slated for March.

Headlining dates:

February 7 Tallin, Estonia Sveta Bar

February 8 Riga, Latvia Melna Piektdiena

February 9 Vilnius, Lithuania XI 20

February 13 Antwerp, Belgium Kavka

February 14 Brighton, UK Patterns

February 15 London, UK The Underworld

February 16 Leeds, UK Brudenell Social Club

February 17 Glasgow, UK Stereo

February 18 Newcastle, UK Cluny

February 19 Birmingham, UK Castle and Falcon

February 20 Bristol, UK Fleece

February 21 Manchester, UK Deaf Institute

March 6 Los Angeles, CA Resident

March 10 Oakland, CA Elbo Room Jack London

w/Perturbator and Health:

October 6 Lille, France Aeronef

October 7 Paris, France L’Olympia

October 12 Bordeaux, France Krakatoa

October 13 Toulouse, France Bikini

October 14 Madrid, Spain La Riviera

October 15 Barcelona, Spain Razzmatazz 2

October 16 Nantes, France Stereolux

October 18 Lyon, France Le Transbordeur

October 19 Strasbourg, France La Laiterie

Oxtober 20 Lausanne, Switzerland Les Docks

October 21 Munich, Germany Freheiz

October 22 Vienna, Austria Arena

October 23 Budapest, Hungary Akvarium Nagyhall

October 25 Prague, Czech Republic Lucerna Music

October 26 Wroclaw, Poland Zaklete Rewiry

October 27 Warsaw, Poland Progresja

October 28 Berlin, Germany Heimathafen

October 29 Goteborg, Sweden Tradgar N

October 30 Stockholm, Sweden Berns

November 1 Helsinki, Finland Tavastia

November 3 Oslo, Norway Vulkan Arena

November 4 Copenhagen, Denmark Pumpehuset

November 5 Hamburg, Germany Uebel & Gefahrlich

November 6 Utrecht, Netherlands Tivoli

November 8 Cologne, Germany Kantine

November 9 Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxermbourg Rockhall

November 10 Brussels, Belgium Ancienne Belgique

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Monica at Speakeasy PR.]

Review: Motörhead – Everything Louder Forever

How do you even attempt to create a collection of Motörhead‘s forty-year career? If you’re BMG Records, you put together Everything Louder Forever, which they describe as “the definitive assembly of Motörhead songs that have created [a] cultural phenomenon, and represents the first time all the eras of the band’s recorded history have been represented in one place.”

Starting with the classic, frantic “Overkill,” Everything Louder Forever packs so much power into two CDs / four LPs that it’s bursting at the seams. Lemmy Kilmister‘s heavy bass comes to the forefront on “We Are Motörhead” and never leaves for the rest of the collection. “Fast” Eddie Clarke‘s guitar solo on “Snaggletooth” (a song named after the band’s logo) is stunning. Brian “Robbo” Robertson‘s piano pounding adds a fun touch to “Rock It.”

The fuzz of “Orgasmatron” never gets old. Mikkey Dee‘s drums on “Sacrifice” are bonkers and make you stop in your tracks and pay attention. “Killed by Death” is still one of Motörhead’s wittiest tracks, as is “Smiling Like a Killer,” in which Kilmister takes on the persona of a happy man with a dark, deadly secret. “Keys to the Kingdom” is a good example of how well Motörhead could groove.

The double kick drum on “Burner” is perfect for the afterburner energy of it. “Just ‘Cos You Got the Power” has Kilmister at some of his angriest on the vocals and some of Micheal “Würzel” Burston‘s best guitar work. “R.A.M.O.N.E.S.” is a fun tribute to fellow rockers. “I Ain’t No Nice Guy” features Ozzy Osbourne on guest vocals and Slash on guitar. The compilation ends, appropriately, with “Motörhead.”

It’s full of great tracks, too many to list and review here. It works as both an introduction to the band and a fine addition to an established collection.

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[Thanks to Maria at Adrenaline PR.]

Jacques Greene releases great new track, “Taurus,” ahead of his next EP.

Jacques Greene today announces a new EP, Fantasy, out January 28th (digitally) and April 8th (physically), with the EP available today as NFT. Fantasy pushes Greene further into his down-tempo, trip-hop, and ambient influences than ever before, all while maintaining his signature style. In conjunction with today’s announcement, Greene shares Fantasy’s hypnotic lead single, “Taurus.” “In my mind there’s a real soothing, meditative core to this,” says Greene, “and the almost relentless repetitive nature of the aggressive breaks is meant to tip over into full mediation mode. There’s angst – but there’s trying to move through it.”

Listen to “Taurus” by Jacques Greene

“The things you hear when you’re alone. Walking through Mount Royal or other wooded areas you might notice a branch break. As much as I value my alone time and the subtle things you can pick up around and within yourself in those moments, a certain loneliness and anxiety permeates the quiet at some point. The past couple years created ample opportunity for that anxiety and loneliness to stretch its legs and make itself comfortable. This record was born out of weeks of willing a form of peace and inspiration into my surroundings. A large part of that came from working with Leanne Macomber on some vocals. Through a desire to form new connections and throw more humanity into the work. We made a variety of song sketches that I mostly reworked into the final recordings here. We spoke a lot about where our heads were at, certain key phrases, triggers and emotions. Joel Ford, whom I worked on Dawn Chorus with, mixed the record and helped me wrangle a few cats to get this across the finish line. Restless at home in Canada, feeling the restlessness of all my friends and loved ones I kept in touch with as much as possible, trying to make something that made the quiet a bit more peaceful.”
— Jacques Greene

Since releasing his last studio album Dawn Chorus in 2019, Jacques Greene scored the short film Exhaust starring Jimmie Fails (The Last Black Man in San Francisco), Glenn Kaino’s installation piece Tidepools (alongside Nosaj Thing), and the video game Home School. Additionally, Greene released remixes for artists including Montreal disco legends Lime, Kacy Hill, Kllo, Elohim, and more. In 2020, Greene made headlines for creating “Promise,” the first single released with associated NFT that staked the owner to music publishing, and the following year released ANTH01, a collection of unearthed tracks spanning the earliest years of his career alongside previously unreleased tracks.

Fantasy Tracklist:
01. Taurus
02. Memory Screen + Fantasy
03. Relay
04. Sky River ft. Satomimagae
05. Leave Here

Pre-Order Fantasy

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[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Yard Act – The Overload

Coming out of the 2022 gate with strong chops and wit, Yard Act‘s The Overload has already set the bar high for post-punk albums (and ones in other genres, for that matter) to come.

The title track opens the record with a breakneck dance bass riff from Ryan Needham while lead singer James Smith sings about “The overload of discontent…The constant burden of making sense. It won’t relent.” Good grief, is he right. “Dead Horse” is a punch at Brexit and racism in England (“England, my heart bleeds. Why’d you abandon me? Yeah, I abandoned you, too, but we both know I wasn’t the one lied to, and I’m not scared of people who don’t look like me, unlike you.”)

“Payday” and “Rich” are a nice double-punch, both with crunchy guitar by Sam Shjipstone. “Payday” is all about getting rich on the efforts of others and getting away with it. “Rich” is a witty track about how wealth often brings misery and / or desire to become richer despite having everything you need.

“The Incident” seems to have Smith, Needham, Shjipstone, and drummer Jay Russell almost each playing their own song, but it somehow works and produces a funny tune about the different set of rules for CEOs and VIPs, even though their reputation and worth is built on illusions (“We’ve created rules that you can’t find in the book, a different type of prison for a different type of crook. Ever since the incident, my complete incompetence has been exposed to everyone and rendered me irrelevant.”)

“Witness (Can I Get a?)” is a fun punk riff on trying to get people to agree with whatever you’re yelling about at the time. “Land of the Blind” is a song about graft played with beats great for walking your dog, strutting to the ring, or working the catwalk. “Quarantine the Sticks” takes on both bad police and corporate practices. It reminds me of some of Sleaford Mods‘ stuff in its delivery and message.

“Tall Poppies” might have the hardest-hitting lyrics on the entire record as Smith spins a tale of a good joe who has a decent life and dies in his nice home, knowing he had a good run. It’s an allegory for everyone trying to make do with the hand they’ve been dealt and make the world a bit better in their own way (“We cry because children are dying across the sea, and there is nothing we can do about it. Whilst we benefit from the bombs they dropped, which we had no part in building. We are sorry, truly we are sorry. We are just trying to get by, too.”)

“Pour Another” has some of Russell’s coolest beats while Smith sings about pals kicking back with a few pints while the world burns around them. “100% Endurance” has Smith telling all of us to tell everyone we love that we love them and all of us have the means within to be happy (“Everything has already happened. Time is an illusion. It’s hippie bullshit, but it’s true.”)

A neat thing about The Overload is that it doesn’t overload you. It delivers all the goods, yes, and plenty of bite and beats, but it doesn’t hammer you over the head or try so hard that Yard Act become self-parodies or annoying. In other words, they crafted a damn fine album.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Tom at Hive Mind PR.]

Anika announces remix album and tour dates.

Anika announces Change: The Remixes, out February 11th on Sacred Bones and Invada, and shares “Planningtochange” (Planningtorock Remix). As an avid fan of dance music and the communal power of the club, Anika wanted to give her 2021 album Change a wider range by entrusting it to some friends in contemporary electronic music – Planningtorock, Dave Clarke, Lauren Flax, Maral, and PDBY. The result is a remix record that illustrates both the underlying compositional depth of the album and its ability to inspire equally exciting new songs.

Anika elaborates: “Change is quite a specific album. It was made in the context of the lockdown, very much a headphones, inside-your-head record. As a big fan of DJing and dancing in dark spaces, I wanted this to go further, keep growing, expanding, so I asked some friends from very different worlds to take it somewhere else, beyond the bird-filled hills of Brandenburg. This is what happened.”

Planningtorock’s Jam Rahuoja Rostron adds: “Anika is a dear old friend of mine and I’ve loved her music right from the beginning. Her latest LP is sooooo good and I really love Change so I was super happy be able to make a remix for this which was also a lot of fun to make.”

Anika will also tour North America in May and June. All dates are below and tickets are on sale now here.

Stream “Planningtochange” (Planningtorock Remix)

Pre-order Change: The Remixes

Change: The Remixes Tracklist:
1. Planningtochange (Planningtorock Remix)
2. Never Coming Back (Dave Clarke Remix)
3. Critical (Lauren Flax Remix)
4. Finger Pies (Maral At The Controls Dub Mix)
5. Freedom (PBDY Remix)
6. Change (Lauren Flax Remix – bonus track)

Anika Tour Dates:
Feb. 11 – Berlin, DE @ Volksbühne
March 9 – Koln, DE @ Bumann & SOHN
March 11 – Lille, FR @ L’Aeronef
March 12-13 – Saint-Malo, FR @ La Route Du Rock Hiver
April 17 – London, UK @ Moth Club
April 18 – Manchester, UK @ Yes (Basement)
April 19 – Glasgow, UK @ Nice N Sleazy
April 20 – Bristol, UK @ Louisiana
May 13 – Austin, TX @ Oblivion Access Festival
May 15 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
May 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
May 17 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop

May 19 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
May 20 – Seattle, WA @ Vera Project
May 21 – Vancouver, BC @ The Fox Cabaret
May 23 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
May 25 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
May 26 – Montreal, QC @ Fairmount Theatre
May 28 – New York, NY @ Knockdown Center
May 29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
May 30 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage

May 31 – Knoxville, TN @ Pilot Light
June 1 – Nashville, TN @ Third Man Records
June 2 – Memphis, TN @ Crosstown Arts
June 3 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Yard Act releases “Rich” ahead of full album due January 21st.

The buzzing Leeds band Yard Act are preparing to release their highly anticipate debut The Overload later this month (Jan 21st) via Island Records and their own imprint Zen F.C., and today they are sharing their final single from the album, a track called “Rich.” The album arrives following a banner year for the band, and the excitement around them has continued to heat up at the start of 2022. Following a late 2021 appearance on Later…w/ Jools Holland, Elton John called Yard Act one of his favorite new bands in an NME feature (he described their sound as “a different ball game“), the band were named an NPR Slingshot artists for 2022 with NPR proclaiming that “Yard Act will be 2022’s breakthrough English post-punk act“, saw features in Rolling Stone and The Guardian, and their album has received some glowing early reviews including 5* reviews from Rolling Stone UK and DIY Magazine, 4.5* stars from Uncut, 4* and the coveted album of the month award from MOJO.

WATCH: Yard Act’s “Rich” video HERE

Speaking about the new track, which follows the November single “Payday“, frontman James Smith explains: “‘Rich’ is the natural successor to ‘Payday’. That’s the end of the story right? Success! Status! Security! Except, there’s always more money to be made, and you’re deemed a failure if your life starts to head back in the direction it came from. It’s about being so lost you’re sure you know exactly where you are and how you got there. I also wrote it because I thought it would be quite funny if Yard Act made a shit ton of money after I’d written an anti-capitalist concept album. It’ll be funny if I’m singing this song on stage when I’ve made my mint.”

He elaborates: “At worst it makes no sense, at best it comes off as pretentious, but that’s the point I’m trying to make when I write anything really. Things only really make sense if you exclude the bits that don’t back up the point you’re trying to make. I’m a hypocrite just like everyone else. I don’t have the answers and I’m just trying to do the best I can. It’ll never be good enough though. Enjoy the ride, life is short and you never know what’s round the corner.”

The accompanying video is the band’s fourth collaboration with director James Slater and his production team, following ‘The Overload’, ‘Land Of The Blind’, and ‘Payday’ and further develops the world Yard Act have created and the characters that exist within it.

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[Thanks to Tom at Hive Mind PR.]

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard team up with DJ Shadow for a remix of “Black Hot Soup.”

Today, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard release a new single/video, “Black Hot Soup (DJ Shadow “My Own Reality” Re-Write),” from their forthcoming remix album, Butterfly 3001, out January 21st on KGLW. Following last month’s “Neu Butterfly (Peaches Remix)” and “Shanghai (Dub By The Scientist),” King Gizzard continue their remix streak with “Black Hot Soup (DJ Shadow “My Own Reality” Re-Write)” and expand on it with an accompanying video directed by John Angus Stewart, starring iconic Australian author, satirist, radio presenter and documentary maker John Safran, and featuring appearances from Alkiviadis Grapsas and John Dimoulas.

Watch the Video for “Black Hot Soup” (DJ Shadow “My Own Reality” Re-Write)

“’Black Hot Soup’ is an almost perfect way to describe the world as we know it in the present. A bubbling, thick, sticky, confusing angry place that seems to be made for generations long past. Therefore I wanted to portray a character somehow revelling in the chaos, dancing on the ashes of society. There is an inherent freedom watching someone hitting bottom so hard with a smile. To me it’s a non cynical representation of expression through music! As DJ Shadow fully reworked ‘Black Hot Soup’ I cast John Safran to fully re-work the song again within a performance. Calling it a dance is a stretch, I’d call it more of a full body dry heave.” – John Angus Stewart
King Gizzard’s Joey Walker elaborates: “We’ve put off doing a remix album for a long time. Maybe it was conscious, maybe it wasn’t. But it’s happening now. That’s not to say that Butterfly 3000 makes the most sense to remix. It might seem like the obvious one, but it’s not. Yes it’s electronic. But so is a fridge. Have you tried to dance to Butterfly? It’s hard. It ties your shoelaces together. It’s duplicitous in its simplicity. But Butterfly 3001 expands on this. It also deviates and obliterates. We’re honoured to have such esteemed people go to work on these songs. We hope you love this album as much as we do. See you in DA CLUB!!!”

Listen to “Neu Butterfly” (Peaches Remix)

Listen to “Shanghai” (Dub by The Scientist)

Pre-Order Butterfly 3001

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[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Wah Together release single from upcoming album, “Let’s Wah Together,” due March 04, 2022.

“Sayonara” is the debut single by Wah Together which features Phil Mossman (ex LCD Soundsystem), Vito Roccoforte (The Rapture), Steve Schiltz (Longwave) and front woman Jaiko Suzuki (Electroputas). On “Sayonara”, Infectious Japanese Yé Yé beats swipe right on noisy, noir-tinged motorik excursions to form a psychedelic garage-rock power couple at 45 rpm. “Sayonara” bids a fond farewell to sweet memories of a lost lover with skewed-but-sugary ‘60s pop melodies, swinging, big beat drumming and no-wave guitar rave-ups like The Runners Four-era Deerhoof raining on Broadcast’s Tender Buttons parade. Wah Together is an impassioned defense for a shared act of creation. Tracked spontaneously and principally live, “Sayonara” captures the immediacy and spontaneity of a group of musicians listening to— and playing off— one another with genuine affection, curiosity and joy.

On their debut LP, Let’s Wah Together, the NYC-based quartet revel in the communal delight that happens when happy accidents are caught on tape. Tracked principally live and in close quarters, Let’s Wah Together captures the immediacy and spontaneity of a group of musicians listening to—and playing off— one another with genuine affection, curiosity, and joy. From the skronk n’ stomp of “I’m A Swimmer” to the Japanese Yé Yé beat inflected “Sayonara,” the dense ear-busting wistfulness of “Teen Vito” and the storming acidic drive of “Out! Out! Out!,” Let’s Wah Together is a loud and commanding recommitment to the cooperative spirit and familial love that always marks New York’s most vital eras.

New York City might be a gilded husk of its former self, but Wah Together have blown out a hole in the sweat-stained wall, churned up the asphalt and uncovered untrammeled layers of the city’s garage/psych-underground. No mere ruddy-cheeked baby-band, Wah Together instead assembles a loose group of friends and musicians, each seminal to the city’s musical legacy. The band met-cute in 2019 at a “chance” jam session Mossman slyly arranged in his dark DUMBO basement studio roping in long-time friend and drummer Vito Roccoforte to play with guitarist and producer Steve Schiltz.

The sound the three produced that day was an emphatic mix of contorted rave-ups, feedback drenched space oddities and pulsating Krautrock but it might have only remained a sprawling and allusive project the three conjured periodically if not for Jaiko Suzuki. Suzuki, former go-go dancer, avant-garde percussionist and occasional Coney Island “mermaid,” leant vocals to a variety of projects but never really sung in a band until being recruited by her old pal Roccoforte. Suzuki’s voice, at once both effervescent and direct, digs into her bandmates tightly linked motorik and shoegazed jams, coaxing out hooks and adding ballast to the shattering volume they produce.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Steven at Dedstrange.]

Shilpa Ray hits hard on her newest single, “Bootlickers of the Patriarchy.”

New York City’s Shilpa Ray shared “Bootlickers of the Patriarchy,” a scathing new track written about Senator Susan Collins and her infamous press conference after the Kavanaugh/Blasey Ford hearings. “It’s about women who succeed from undermining the success of other women or choose to gain success from exploiting the oppression of other women,” says Ray. “This is a character who has taken many forms throughout history, the kind of woman who seems perfectly content playing Gamma to the Alpha male. ‘Bootlicker’ is my direct challenge to the notion of ‘women supporting other women,’ as well as the falsehoods and unrealistic expectations that come with a statement like that.”

“I wrote the song to be played in two different arrangement styles, the first half being slow and haunting and the second going balls-to-the-wall rage. I was re-exploring a lot of industrial/proto-industrial music I had listened to as a teenager in the 90s and used some elements of synth/drum machine sounds to convey all that anger, panic and darkness.”

“Bootlickers of the Patriarchy” is backed with a cover of Ministry’s “I’m Not An Effigy.” Ray explains: “I was obsessed with the Ministry album With Sympathy when writing tracks for my next full length album. It is the record Al Jourgenson has stated multiple times that he’s ashamed of most, which is saying a lot considering this man’s autobiography. I teamed up with my friend Heather Elle of Flossing, formerly of post punk bands Bodega and The Wants for this collaboration. It’s my first official recorded track where I’m playing guitar, so as the saying goes, it’s never too late to pick up a new instrument and get totally lost in it.“

The two tracks are on 7” vinyl and is available to order from Northern Spy here.

Shilpa Ray began releasing music in 2006 with her projects Beat The Devil and later Her Happy Hookers. In 2011, she began touring with Nick Cave as a backup singer and supporting act, playing under her own name and going on to release highly lauded works, including Last Year’s Savage (2015) and Door Girl (2017). Bootlickers of the Patriarchy 7” follows 2020’s standalone tracks “Manic Pixie Dream Cunt” and “Heteronomative Horseshit Blues” which earned critical praise from Paste Magazine, Brooklyn Vegan, Louder Than War, MXDWN, FLOOD Magazine, Alt Citizen, American Songwriter and Billboard, among many others.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Cody at Clandestine PR.]