LISTEN: pink suits – ‘Be Good To Yourself’

A distinctly pink suits take on the self care anthem, ‘Be Good To Yourself‘ combines the fierce drums, screaming guitars and passionate vocals the band are known for with an unmissable wholesome message. It’s easy to ignore empty platitudes telling you to live, laugh, love, but pink suits take a more insightful and defiant approach to self-care.

The track acknowledges how hard an instruction as simple as “be good to yourself” can be in a world where everyone is struggling for one reason or another with support increasingly difficult to access in the rare places it is available. A world where people feel more isolated than ever, despite the tools we have for connection, because of the dog-eat-dog nature of contemporary society; where you are made to feel guilty for not being on the grind every waking moment of your day; where the controlling elite profit when you feel bad about taking the time out to practice even the slightest moment of genuine self care (assuming, that is, you ever manage to practice genuine self-care, and not the self-care defined by capitalists involving spending money you don’t have on things that only really offer short time comforts). 

pink suits point directly at the cause of the problems likely to be weighing on you and make it impossible to argue with them when they tell you to find a way to be kind to yourself anyway. Every reference to the issues making self-care a struggle comes as a comfort. ‘Be Good To Yourself’ is a track designed to make you feel seen; the rage integral to pink suits’ energy echoes the frustration of self-care feeling so elusive. That energy makes you want to be good to yourself in spite of all the elements of the world around you seemingly designed to make you feel awful.

In a world that is cruel, and makes a particular target out of people who are already marginalised, this song redefines self-care as an act of rebellion and defiance. It hammers home how truly vital it is to ensure that, when there is no guarantee of compassion or kindness from anywhere else, you, at the very least, will be good to yourself.

‘Be Good To Yourself’ is taken from pink suits’ immense new album Dystopian Hellscape. Listen / buy on bandcamp now!

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

Kirstie SummersLeave a comment

LISTEN: BCOS RSNS – ‘Turn It Off’

The second single from their upcoming debut album, ‘Turn It Off‘ by BCOS RSNS turns the post-punk band’s attention to conspiracy theories and capitalism. The song uses scuzzy guitars and dry, deadpan wit to draw a profound parallel between the ridiculous and the real, highlighting how easy it is to begin investigating genuinely dangerous societal concerns and end up diverted into truly absurd territory by conspiracists profiting off your concern.

The early verses start off with obviously silly theories that no one really believes – that Neil Armstrong was an actor, but that the moon landing was shot on location. Then the song escalates down that all-too-slippery slope to ideas you hear parroted by otherwise sensible, intelligent people. It’s a pattern you’ll be familiar with if you paid attention to the number of smart people echoing life-threatening anti-vax logic during the height of the Covid pandemic, for example.

The chorus hammers home the crucial point at the core of the track perfectly. It starts with fairly good advice, beginning “turn off your tv”, up to “turn off your smart home” (do you really trust what privately owned energy companies are doing with your data? They’re raising prices and announcing record profits, so it really doesn’t feel all that much like they’re passing on the benefit of that information to the consumer…), and finally pivots to “turn off your kettle” and “pull down your blinds”, which (unless you have a smart kettle and blinds that channel data back to the 1%, which thankfully is yet part of a dystopian future I personally am very relieved to have not yet seen first-hand) is a foray into paranoia. But the steps that take you there aren’t that illogical. In a few relatively short (and honestly very catchy lines), the song demonstrates how easily someone could be persuaded to veer off course from sensible precautions to wild speculation.

‘Turn It Off’ culminates in the direct, straight-faced third verse, where the character is dropped and the mission statement presented clearly and unambiguously. In a song about the way mis-information snowballs into tangible harm, the directness here becomes all the more profound. The verse describes the song itself as a “distraction”, and they’re not wrong. Satisfying the frustration of life on a dying planet with the temporary catharsis of a fun song doesn’t make any difference to the situation. The track doesn’t hide how difficult it is to even envision how to turn back the death clock at this late stage of the game. The singer herself, Abi Brady, even says of the song’s thesis,  “I don’t have any answers to any of it. It’s frustrating.“

But art doesn’t need to have all the answers, and with this release BCOS RSNS process the trauma of existing as a single powerless individual under the tyranny of late stage capitalism through an upbeat and playfully intelligent song, and invite you to purge your shared frustrations with them.

The eponymous debut album from BCOS RSNS is set for release on 22nd May – pre-order here. Catch the band live celebrating its release at The Cavendish Arms on 25th May.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

Kirstie SummersLeave a comment

ALBUM: pink suits – ‘Dystopian Hellscape’

Whatever the follow-up to 2021’s Political Child would end up being, it had exponentially growing shoes to fill. pink suits‘ debut album cemented the Margate duo as a politically-charged riot, and whatever came next had an increasingly turbulent global environment to engage with. Thankfully, Dystopian Hellscape is an astute and comprehensive reaction to existing in the mess that is Tory Britain in 2024.

The album, which consists of a whopping 16 tracks, kicks off with their playful warm-up song, ‘C.O.F.F.E.E.‘ It’s a high energy, fun start to the journey you’re about to embark on through the whiplash of experiences the new album covers. 

Then they launch right into the title track, ‘Dystopian Hellscape’, which doesn’t pull a single punch when it comes to calling out the choices a handful of powerful people have made that are making life difficult for everyone else. The track uses news stories that are depressingly familiar to anyone paying attention right now to create a tapestry of struggle that builds up in a horrifying picture of contemporary life. The screaming guitars, drums and vocals generate a great cathartic release in response to hypocrisy and selfishness on the part of not only politicians, but the fractured society that allows them to thrive. The transphobes and anti-vaxxers and climate deniers who cling to the hate that has made up their identity.

Over the course of the album, the duo examines politics (‘A Comprehensive Breakdown of How Trickle-Down Economics Works’), cultural bankruptcy (‘I Don’t Have Crypto’), internal anxiety (‘Things I Told My Therapist’, ‘Kimberly May’), queerphobic micro-aggressions (‘Are You Get Yet?‘), societal hypocrisy (‘Tofu Wokerati’) and the general sense of overwhelming overload of having to exist in a world with all of those things bombarding you near constantly all at the same time (‘Don’t Talk to Me’). With each topic they engage with, pink suits know exactly how to drive home a point that leaves you unable to ignore the message they’re putting across. They have a mastery of lines that jump out and punch you in the gut, encompassing enormous and complex issues in concise summaries that get right to the point and linger with you.

But, amongst all the things that make this planet dystopian and hellish, pink suits pause for more playful tracks that remind you that it’s worth sticking around for the moments of community and queer joy you can get. There is righteous anger rich with rebellious hope (‘Refuse the Rules‘) and reminders that taking care of yourself is not only vital (‘Be Good to Yourself’), but an act of rebellion in itself (‘Self Care is Punk’), along with celebrations of the pockets of space that do exist where community can flourish and life can be fun (‘Margate Arts Club’).

This is an album that leads you by the hand to places where you can’t help but look at some of the most horrible aspects of society and see the monstrous side of humanity. But they make sure you get to stop for a breather exactly when you need it, to focus on some self-care and take a look around at all the other people rallying alongside you. Dystopian Hellscape cements the band as insightful and intelligent, as well as fun and talented performers. The riffs are fuzzy, the drums are infectious, the melodies are catchy and it’s impossible not to get swept up into the rock and rage attitude that is pink suits’ signature vibe.

Dystopian Hellscape, the second album from pink suits, is out now, listen and buy via Bandcamp. The band are currently tour and their live show is something else, so make sure you don’t miss out – tickets and info here.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

Kirstie SummersLeave a comment

New Track: pink suits – ‘Are You Gay Yet?’

One of the first songs written for their much anticipated upcoming album Dystopian Hellscape, pink suits have released their fourth and final single release ‘Are You Gay Yet?’. Described as “a seething celebration of queerness”, it captures the duo’s distinct, definitive essence perfectly. An anthem dedicated to reclaiming your identity and sense of self, the track takes their trademark angst and channels it into a fierce salute to individuality.

The track begins with clattering, fast paced drumming that teases the riotous energy integral to pink suits’ signature sound. Fuzzy guitars begin slowly and simply, giving the vocals plenty of space to belt out the track’s central question: “Are you gay yet?” It hangs in the relative quiet of those opening lines, forcing you to confront the discomfort inherent in such an invasive and personal question, and consider the mindset of someone who thinks that’s an appropriate thing to say out loud.

Guitar, drums and vocals pick up for furious, fast paced verses that delve deeper. They depict moments that any visibly queer person will recognise, when people go out of their way to make a point of letting you know that they have noticed, in a way that evidently isn’t designed to be kind. A way that might be delivered gently, but still feels like a slap in the face.

The track alternates between the intrusive questions and the visceral emotional reaction to being asked them. The abrupt shifts between the two perspectives create a sense of whiplash that evokes the dizzy sense of disorientation that often hits when someone has caught you off-guard with such a pernicious approach to asking about your life.

‘Are You Gay Yet?’ is quintessentially pink suits. It aches with rage at the micro-aggressions that queer people are routinely expected to tolerate, yet is simultaneously infused with an infectious joy born of rejecting that expectation. With this song, pink suits are clapping back with all the frustration they are made to feel in that moment and revelling in the satisfaction of taking the power back.

Dystopian Hellscape, the upcoming second album from pink suits, is set for release on 1st April. Catch pink suits on tour over the next couple of months, including 29th March at Manchester Punk Festival and 13th April at Cro Cro Land. Dates and tickets here.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

Kirstie SummersLeave a comment