Having released their blazing debut, Political Child, back in 2021, Margate duo pink suits have now just released their second album. Inspired by the relentless over saturation of bleak news cycles, Dystopian Hellscape may be a little more self-reflective, silly and sexy than its predecessor, but loses none of the band’s politically aggressive, anti-Tory, anti-Fascist, Feminist Queer Energy. Inspired by a newspaper article entitled The News Comes So Often, It Makes You Sick, Dystopian Hellscape explores the effects of modern society and neoliberal politics on our mental health with pinks suits’ trademark tenacious spirit and raw musicality. Reflecting on the sense of confusion and frustration that comes with the over-saturation of scandal and disaster within mainstream media, the album also discusses themes of self-care, grief, gender identity, sexuality, queer joy and – of course – coffee. From the riotous power of searing rallying cry ‘Refuse The Rules’, and the fiercely uncompromising reclamation of being confident in who you are, ‘Are You Gay Yet?’, the album showcases pink suits’ ability to channel frustration into a perfect raging catharsis.
We think one of the best ways to get to know a band is by asking what music inspires them. So, to celebrate the release of the Dystopian Hellscape, I caught up with Ray and Lennie to find out about the music that inspires them the most. Read about their five favourite albums, watch the video for recent single ‘C.O.F.F.E.E‘ and make sure you check out the full album on bandcamp now!
The Runaways – The Runaways
The Runaways’ debut album, which was released in 1976, is one of my fave albums of all time, as well as being a huge influence on the kind of music I (Ray) wanted to make when we started pink suits. I think I discovered The Runaways when I was about 14 and got completely obsessed with them. I think the fact that they were so young on this record, and when I found them I was also so young, it gave me a radical feeling of possibility. Which when you’re 14 feels pretty wild! I think I immediately assembled a band of misfits and people I thought could kick-off pretty well given the chance, which we were all extremely excited about and equally I think all knew it was never actually gonna happen. I loved the uninhibited energy they had, and I’m still waiting for my front-man moment – out from behind the drums! I wanna be front and centre, swinging the mic around and working the crowd.
** Sadly and disappointedly, it turns out Cherie Currie is a massive terf! But Joan Jett is still an icon, so we can breathe easy for that! Although this album and The Runaways will always be a big influence on us as a band we cannot support anyone with transphobic views. We have played ‘Cherry Bomb’ for the last time…
Amyl and The Sniffers – Big Attraction and Giddy Up
This album was one of the biggest references of sound for Dystopian Hellscape. Everyone went mad for Comfort To Me, which is a great album, but we think Big Attraction and Giddy Up is the most exciting LP. It is 2 EPs – Giddy Up was written and released all in a 12 hour time span, and then Big Attraction was written later that year. You can get the LP of both of these EPs together (though it has just disappeared from Spotify?). We love this LP, it feels so rough and ready. Amy is such a force as a front person and we love the energy they bring every time; you can feel it through the record just as much as you do live, which is definitely something we strive for as well. We find recording hard because of the challenge of getting the live feel and energy across. Not that many bands manage it, but we think Big Attraction and Giddy Up really feels like the live band.
Allison Russell – Outside Child
This debut album from Allison Russell came out in 2021, and is probably our most listened to album of all time. I think we listened to it a few times a day everyday for over a year – the best thing that we did during lockdown! It’s just incredible. It is a very personal and heart wrenching album about trauma, childhood, love, loss, growth, and her voice is just amazing. We have had the chance to see her live a couple times and wept throughout the whole show; honestly one of the most stunning humans to see. The content of the music is often quite heavy, but she is able to bring a joy and lightness to it. We love her so much!
Orville Peck – Pony
As some of you probably know, when we aren’t being a punk band we are full country babes – we run a night called Queer Cuntry, and we owe a lot of that to Orville Peck. We got immediately obsessed with him as soon as we heard this debut album of his, he really brought back a sort of old country sound which is the style of country music we love. He is also just very camp and queer and theatrical, which we relate to in a lot of ways. This album and the music videos and performances we saw from him were pretty incredible; he combines a sort of cinematic storytelling with camp aesthetics in a way that just works. There’s no fighting it! He also used to be in a punk band and trained in ballet, so really we are kindred spirits in so many ways. We saw him four times in 2019, and the live shows are so much fun. Queer Cuntry has taken off in a big way for us (we are bringing it to Chaka Khan’s Meltdown Festival in June!), and Pony was the album that gave us a kick up the ass and made us start doing country.
(You can catch pink suits in their country guise supporting Dolly Parton tribute band The Dumb Blondes on 19th July at Sebright Arms – tickets are already moving quick, so don’t miss out!)
Bob Vylan – We Live Here
This is another album that we absolutely rinsed when it came out. As soon as we heard the title track we were obsessed, and then we got the whole album and every song is fucking killer. This was such an inspiring album as we were putting together our debut album political child and were thinking about how aggressively violent and political it was; we were not worried about saying what we wanted to say, but we were curious how it would land as we were not hearing that much new music that was so full of rage. Then we heard We Live Here and we were like YES! Let’s fucking go with this angry and violent protest album! I used to go running and listen to political child straight into We Live Here to see if our album stood up next to the Bobbys… We think it does, and we got to support Bob Vylan in Ramsgate a year later, and the live show is just so so good! These guys give it absolutely everything and deserve all the success they are having.
We just realised we have a kink for debut albums! I guess that makes sense, it is so exciting to see how a new artist chooses to burst into the world. All of the subsequent material from these artists is amazing too, but clearly we love that first fresh taste.
Massive thanks to pink suits for sharing their Five Favourites with us! Make sure you check out their full new album, Dystopian Hellscape, now. And catch them live across the country over the next few months, including at Cro Cro Land in South London this Saturday, 13th April.
Get In Her Ears 
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