NEW TRACK: CLT DRP – ‘Nothing Clever, Just Feelings’

Following on from their visceral, incendiary anthem ‘New Boy‘, Brighton feminist art punks CLT DRP have shared their latest single ‘Nothing Clever, Just Feelings’. The title track from their upcoming second album, which is set for release on 8th September via Venn Records, ‘Nothing Clever, Just Feelings’ is a thumping, primal, tenacious offering that champions the immediacy and the transitory nature of thoughts and emotions.

CLT DRP blew us away when they performed at The Great Escape Festival earlier this year, with this new single providing one of many highlights during their set. Fuelled by Annie’s powerful, crystalline vocals, Daphne’s phenomenal percussion and Scott’s jagged guitar FX, ‘Nothing Clever, Just Feelings’ is a cathartic anthem that celebrates the act of feeling your emotions without over-analysing them. “I’m learning to manage my distractions / I’m getting better at talking less shit” Annie sings, her defiance and directness as intoxicating as the cacophony of potent noise behind her.

“This is the title track for a reason!” she explains about the single. “Desperation, anger, confusion—ALL the feelings. I think I spent a lot of time when I was younger trying to be clever about lyrics. I wanted to try and be witty or something ‘mature’. As a younger woman in the industry, I felt like I wasn’t going to be taken seriously writing the way I did. I quickly realised that the music I listen to the most is nothing like that, so why would I try and emulate something I don’t even listen to? The lyrics I connect with are always straight forward emotions or familiar scenarios that I can identify right away when I first hear a song. Being present in the lyrics and emotions are important to me as a lyricist. I want you in the car with your friends screaming the lyrics at full blast cursing your ex! That’s what this song is supposed to do.”

This desire for unfiltered self-expression permeates CLT DRP’s new album. Nothing Clever, Just Feelings touches on themes of queerness, heartbreak, new-found strength in vulnerability and gender fluidity, as well as new-found femininity in humour and the fear of being alone. We can’t wait to hear it!

Watch the accompanying video for ‘Nothing Clever, Just Feelings’ directed by Harry Steel (Haunted Mattress) below.

Follow CLT DRP on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Facebook & Instagram

Photo Credit: Bridie Florence

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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NEW TRACK: Problem Patterns – ‘Letter of Resignation’

Fresh from supporting electro-punk icons Le Tigre on their Manchester and Glasgow UK tour dates, GIHE favourites Problem Patterns have shared their tenacious new single ‘Letter of Resignation’. The Belfast-based Riot Grrrls have also announced the title of their upcoming debut album, Blouse Club, which will be released later this year via Alcopop! Records.

A live highlight when they played it during their set at Brighton’s Great Escape festival earlier this year, ‘Letter of Resignation’ sees guitarist Beverley Boal step forward on vocals – and what a force she is. Not defined by traditional band structures, Problem Patterns routinely switch up instruments and mic duties for their songs and it always makes for a refreshing take on the subject they’re singing about.

This time, the band are celebrating queer joy and ally-ship as they tear down those who discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community, specifically in places of employment. “I’m standing up for who I believe in / you can’t fire me, I’m leaving!” chants Bev in gleeful defiance, as her band mates create a joyful cacophony of punk noise around her.

Bev explains the context of the new track eloquently: “‘Letter of Resignation’ is for anyone who has left a job, space or situation because people there were judgmental of, or discriminated against them or others for being different, and they stood up for who they believe in. For me, I grew up hearing the phrase ‘hate the sin, love the sinner’ in churches (always in the same context, as if being gay was the ultimate sin) and it still feels like an attack when I hear the preachers in the street.

Genuine love does not force us to become what we are not. Genuine love extends beyond those who look, act and think like yourself. Genuine love doesn’t inspire violence. Two thirds of queer people have experienced violence or abuse due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. More than half of Northern Irish queer youth say they are not fully accepted by their family. Mental health struggles including self-harm are far more prevalent in the LGBTQ+ community. Those perpetuating ‘traditional’ views have a lot to answer for. And, after so many sexual abuse scandals in the church, it seems like they would be better off trying to keep themselves right.”

‘Letter of Resignation’ is accompanied by a super fun, Pride inspired video, which the band shot in Holywood just outside of Belfast. Directed and edited by Brendan Seamus with input from Bev, the visuals show Problem Patterns unapologetically marching and dancing around the Northern Irish town, featuring vocalist & guitarist Alanah playing a briefcase like it’s a guitar, bassist Ciara throwing some serious shapes by the seaside and drummer Beth acting as a cranky old man.

“Brendy also did our ‘Day & Age’ and ‘Y.A.W’ music videos,” Bev explains. “He always does an amazing job of capturing our fun chaotic energy. Fuelled by Nutmeg’s vegan café and baffled by the amount of churches on the main street, we got ice cream at the beach even though it was a bitter cold Sunday. In the face of hatred, we stand for queer joy. I think that’s the duality of our band and this music video. On one hand, we’re protesting the powers that want to tear us down, but on the other hand, we’re celebrating and proud of who we are and what we believe in. And you can tell we mean business when we’re in our suits, even if we’re having a dance at the seaside.”

Kathleen Hanna (Le Tigre/Bikini Kill) described Problem Patterns as her “new favourite band” and after watching the visuals for their new single, we can totally see why. They’re fun, furious and full of energy, and we can’t wait to have them headline for GIHE again at the Sebright Arms in Hackney later this year on 17th November. Support comes from indie-pop band Fightmilk and the shoegazey sounds of Dogviolet. Tickets are cheaper in advance, so make sure you grab one from DICE.

Watch the video for ‘Letter of Resignation’ below.

Follow Problem Patterns on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Problem Patterns UK Live Dates 2023
15.07.23 – Berlin, My People Fest (w/ FAIM, Dying For It)
22.07.23 – Liverpool, Crapfest (w/ Crapsons, Piss Kitti)
19.08.23 – Glasgow, Core Festival
26.08.23 – Kettering, Greenbelt Festival
17.11.23 – London, Sebright Arms (headlining for Get In Her Ears)

Photo Credit: Carrie Davenport

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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ALBUM: Dream Wife – ‘Social Lubrication’

“Music isn’t the cure, it’s the remedy.”

Following their 2018 self-titled debut LP, and 2020’s sophomore record, So When You Gonna…, London-based trio Dream Wife – consisting of Rakel Mjöll on lead vocals, Alice Go on guitar/backing vocals, and Bella Podpadec on bass/backing vocals – are set to release their highly anticipated, riotous third record, Social Lubrication on 9th June via Lucky Number; a collection of playful, political punk with a lust for life. Entirely self-written and self-produced by Dream Wife and mixed by legendary duo Alan Moulder (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Killers, Depeche Mode) and Caesar Edmunds (Wet Leg, Beach House), Social Lubrication perfectly channels their live wire intensity into ten tracks of raw truth.

Opening with riot grrrl moxie, the infectious Bella bassline of ‘Kick in the Teeth’ (“I spent so much of this youth questioning my value / Lolita’s all grown up now, who knew?”) is followed by the scuzzy Alice Go Go Go riffs of ‘Who Do You Wanna Be?’. Rakel’s rebellious attitude screaming for increased collective action – away from soul-destroying “social media activism without action” – and decreased hyper-individualism. “Exhausted by the pressure to feel somewhat empowered / It’s only 8AM, and I haven’t even showered / Guess perseverance is the boldest thing one can do.”

‘Hot (Don’t Date a Musician)’ evokes the playfulness of CSS and the rock and roll grit of Motörhead. “Don’t date a musician / They’ll think your competition / I was never competition / I was just… hot” Rakel states, her on-the-nose humour backed up by a refusal to be reduced or intimated for being a woman who makes music. Title track’Social Lubrication’ flows in a similar vein, as the trio, exhausted, refuse to pander to patriarchal bullshit. Rakel delivers her spoken word verses with urgency across distorted garage guitar: “What’s it like to be a woman in music, dear? / You’d never ask me that if you regarded me as your peer.”

‘Mascara’ is a love letter to the mundane – but no less important – moments of life, and provides brief respite before Dream Wife are out for blood with ‘Leech’. Screaming for empathy and calling out double standards through frenetic fuzz (“Fuck those who call themselves a friend, but they don’t lift a finger! / Fuck that WhatsApp group where they got points for nailing a fresh-faced singer!”) before crescendo-ing into cathartic feedback. (“Nobody really wins in a patriarchal society. We all lose.”)

‘I Want You’ and ‘Curious’ leave us lusting over Social Lubrication. the first is a filthy Be Your Own Pet-esque punk rocker, and the second is a hot bisexual/polyamorous anthem (“She loves you but she is curious about her love for me… / You’ll all be middle-aged men one day / And I’ll be a middle-aged Dream Wife”). Nostalgic for the early noughties, Dream Wife enter the stratosphere with the New Pony Club/Yeah Yeah Yeahs-inspired ‘Orbit’, closing Social Lubrication with a pulse-racing, disco-punk groove. It’s an unapologetic record that speaks to “systemic problems that cannot be glossed over by lube,” and that’s something we fully endorse at Get In Her Ears.

Pre-order your copy of Dream Wife’s new album Social Lubrication here

Follow Dream Wife on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Ken Wynne
@Ken_Wynne

Photo Credit: Sophie Webster

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New Track: MeMe Detroit – ‘Roaring At The Preachers’

A track that delivers everything it promises in its title, MeMe Detroit’s ‘Roaring At The Preachers‘ is a passionate cry rallying against hypocrisy. Inspired by Birmingham based singer Maria Rodriguez’s experiences with people who impose their views on others, it’s a frustratingly relatable song that takes you on a cathartic and charmingly wholesome journey.

Kicking off with a bouncing bass riff, which provides a solid foundation for the rest of the track to build on, drums and scuzzy guitar are then gradually introduced, adding layers until the song has a bold, fierce texture. The vocals come in rich and husky, but with a lightness that perfectly complements the bass. This balance gives the music the same energy as the lyrics – soaked in rage, but still upbeat and catchy.

You can hear a lot of the emotion behind this song in the vocals. Maria’s voice drips with disdain for the titular preachers, with their backwards attitudes and closed minds, but the lightness and vibrance of the musicality keeps the song hopeful. You can really feel the socially conscious, activist passion at the heart of the track.

The instruments and vocals combine as a single force as the song leaps from chord to chord; drums, strings and singer scream together in a passionate roar that rallies everyone listening to a safer, brighter place. It’s a riotous cry for people to unite with a sense of love and empathy, to embrace a better approach to the world than the negativity that is painfully common.

The flowing melody sweeps you up into its energy. Hooks stay in your head long after the song ends. It’s all too easy to catch yourself joining in with the wails and cheers, not only because the song is so catchy, but because it feels part of something so much bigger than itself.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

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