Relase Date: October 14, 2022
Label: Own It/Cargo Records (CD/LP/Digital)
New Video For The Track ‘Watch With Mother’ From London Based Post-Punk Outfit Streaming; Sophomore Full-Length ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ Set For Release October 14th Through OWN IT/CARGO RECORDS. Watch the Video For “Watch With Mother” at Louder Than War RIGHT HERE. Please Find Pre-Order and Streaming Options HERE. Tourdates Posted!
Experimental post-punk outfit GIRLS IN SYNTHESIS are set to release the eagerly anticipated follow-up to 2020’s incendiary debut, ‘Now Here’s An Echo From Your Future’. Entitled ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ and available this coming October 14th via the band’s own label Own It/Cargo Records, its mix of fractured guitar, crushing drums and bass, intense vocals and lyrical content – create as challenging a record as you will hear this year.
Formed in 2016, GIRLS IN SYNTHESIS are John Linger (bass / vocals), Jim Cubitt (guitar / keys) and Nicole Pinto (drums). The trio’s double a-sided debut single ‘The Mound’/’Disappear’ came out in the early part of 2017, and since then they have established themselves as the most forward thinking, viscerally challenging band around with unmissable live shows that continue to excite and astound in equal measure.
Recorded last year amidst the uncertainty of continuous lockdowns as a result of the global Covid-19 pandemic, ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ is far darker in content than its predecessor. Mainly exploring internal and mental struggles as opposed to external current affairs, it focuses on the claustrophobia of emotional anguish and continues to bravely delve into previously un-ventured topics. Featuring frequent collaborators funkcutter and Stanley Bad on horns and violin, respectively, two songs also see Eleni Poulou, ex-The Fall, on keyboards. The album was mixed by long-term collaborator Max Walker, and features stunning landscape photography by Bea Dewhurst. The album was mastered in France by Ayumu Matsuo.
Sonically atramentous and less one dimensional than the band’s debut, ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ takes its cues from ‘Join Hands’ era Siouxsie & The Banshees, Brainiac and Crass’ ‘Christ The Album’, among others. From the first crackle of electricity on the opening track, to the heart wrenching taped voice-recording on the final outro, this LP triumphantly retains every ounce of intensity and vitality that makes Girls In Synthesis the most captivating band to emerge from the UK DIY underground in recent years.
Talking about the album, John Linger (surely one of the most prolific songwriters of his contemporaries); states “I’m glad lockdown gave us the time to start this album properly, it means that we’ve come out of the mist with an exciting, fresh album that represents where we are right now. It felt like we were harnessing darker moments in our personal lives and putting it into the music.”
‘Watch With Mother’, based around flashback memories of the narrator interpreting a dark parental relationship and the way in which family dynamics have shaped their outlook, set to circular chords which sound like being dragged into the maelstrom. This track sets the tone for the album, with disorientating electronics adding to the confusion weaving its way into the listener’s brain.
“The experimentation and production has really ramped up on this record, which shows a real indication of where we are heading next. We’re already ahead of ourselves, writing-wise. After this, the listener will have some catching up to do,” suggests Cubitt.
‘My Husband’, which deals with a physically violent relationship between husband and wife, is an internal dialogue from the victim’s perspective, projecting the fear and mental anguish in such situations. The stripped-down musical arrangement, resembling bleak four-to-the-floor disco noir, creates suitable, palpable anxiety and tension.
Linger;“The first album was all about capturing the energy of the live shows, whereas writing and recording this one felt like some form of cathartic release. There’s more space in some of the tracks, we’ve learned that stripping stuff out of the music creates the right type of atmosphere for the songs. It’s even more intense than just blasting noise”.
And none more so stripped back and intense than ‘To A Fault’, the albums closer. Dealing with child sexual abuse, the song is mainly made up of bass and vocals until all is unleashed at the end of the song, the band crashing in to accompany an internal monologue on the permanent emotional damage done to the victim. As a chilling coda, we hear a lone voice once again questioning the impact of the abuse, ending an album that isn’t afraid to channel and confront the grim times we live in. Listeners will find ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ a challenging, yet ultimately cathartic listen. Prepare yourselves for a sonic cleansing, Girls In Synthesis style.
The full tracklisting for ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ is as follows: –
‘It’s All Beginning To Change’
‘Watch With Mother’
‘Total Control’
‘Swallowed Pill’
‘Screaming’
‘My Husband’
‘Cottage Industry’
‘Not As I Do’
‘Lacking Bite’
‘Your Prayers Have Changed’
‘To A Fault’
‘The Rest Is Distraction’ comes out on Friday 14th October 2022 via the band’s own label Own It/Cargo Records, with a full UK and EU tour throughout October, November, and December.
Catch the band live at the following dates:
10/09/22 – VIENNA – Pankahyttn
13/10/22 – NORTHAMPTON – Black Prince
14/10/22 – LONDON – The Lexington
15/10/22 – TUNBRIDGE WELLS – Sussex Arms
19/10/22 – BRISTOL – The Louisiana
20/10/22 – MANCHESTER – The Peer Hat
21/10/22 – NOTTINGHAM – Bodega
22/10/22 – BRIGHTON – Green Door Store
09/11/22 – GHENT – Bar Bricolage [w. Cocaine Piss]
10/11/22 – BRUSSELS – Magasin4
11/11/22 – TOURNAI – Water Moulin
12/11/22 – SIEGEN – Veb Siegen
13/11/22 – HAMBURG – Westwerk
14/11/22 – COPENHAGEN – Rahuset
15/11/22 – ODENSE – Posten
16/11/22 – BERLIN – Urban Spree
17/11/22 – FRIEBURG – Slow Club
18/11/22 – WURZBURG – Cafe Cairo
19/11/22 – NUREMBERG – Desi
20/11/22 – UTRECHT – Db’s
07/12/22 – GLASGOW – The Flying Duck
08/12/22 – NEWCASTLE – Zerox
09/12/22 – HULL – The Adelphi
10/12/22 – BIRMINGHAM – Dark Horse
Girls In Synthesis are:
John – Vocals/Bass
Jim – Vocals/Guitar
Nicole – Drums
photo credit:Bea Dewhurst