Track Of The Day: Screaming Toenail – ‘I.O.U’

Having blown us away with the impassioned magnificence of their live show at The Finsbury last December, and with performances for the likes of Decolonise Festival and Afropunk Battle Of The Bands under their belts, anti-colonial queer punks Screaming Toenail have become firm favourites here at GIHE and their message is more resonant now than ever before.

Oozing a seething energy as a whirring tension builds with jangling hooks, new single ‘I.O.U’ asserts that we are worth so much more than our wages, and that we don’t owe our bosses, landlords, or this racist government, anything. Propelled by an impassioned cathartic rage and swirling magnetism, its raw, angst-driven power immerses the listener in its striking, empowering message. As front person Jacob repeats the refrain “I owe you nothing” with a fierce intensity, you’re left – fists-clenched – ready to come together in solidarity and rise up against the forces seeking to oppress us.

Screaming Toenail really are one of the most important bands around at the moment; and tracks such as ‘I.O.U’ and accompanying single ‘Sever’ showcase their vibrant spirit and raw emotion perfectly, highlighting how necessary voices like these are in the fight for justice.

Download ‘I.O.U’ and ‘Sever’ on Bandcamp now:

 

Growth, the upcoming new album from Screaming Toenail, is out 28th July.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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Track Of The Day: Screaming Toenail – ‘Sever’

Having first been introduced to London’s anti colonial queer punks Screaming Toenail when I was completely blown away by their live show supporting Petrol Girls last year, I was happy to discover that they’d shared a new video with the world yesterday.

Taken from their upcoming new album, ‘Sever’ is propelled by a dark, visceral drive as jangling hooks and the impassioned vocals of Jacob V Joyce envelop the ears with stirring resonance. With shades of the anthemic, emotive energy of The Cure, it’s a poignant slice of post-punk. A compelling and affecting offering that demands multiple listens. Of the track, the band explain:

“‘Sever’ is written in response to the never ending saga of getting your hair cut as a gender non conforming person. Or is it our response to the displacement so many of us feel as black and brown people in the diasora? Or maybe building queer community and resisting shame...”

Filmed in Trinidad (by Arnaldo James) and London (by Nichola M J Davis), watch the new video for ‘Sever’ here:

Catch Screaming Toenail live:

19th September – Pop, Brixton (AFROPUNK Battle Of The Bands)
13th December – The Finsbury, London (for Get In Her Ears – we can’t wait!)

 

Mari Lane
@marimindles

 

 

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