NEW TRACK: Vivienne Cure – ‘Barricade’

A commanding, heavy lament to resisting self-sabotage, Vivienne Cure has shared her latest single ‘Barricade’. Full of ominous riffs, thundering beats and her potent vocals, the London-based musician and visual artist traces over feelings of rage and regret on her new offering.

Previously supported by the likes of Kerrang! and CLASH, Vivienne Cure finds refuge in the realms of doom, metal and industrial music, as well as alternative Gothic art spheres. She uses her sound to exorcise personal demons, break free from negative thought patterns and ultimately to connect with others.

“My collection of musical works lay at the centre of a vortex of swirling fragments of deeply personal memories, driven by my inner war and reaction to society’s underlying sadness,” she explains. These forces propel Cure into action, as she explores the macabre and the meaningful in both her aesthetic and her sound.

New single ‘Barricade’ flows in this dark vein. Cure’s plaintive cries are imbued with a sense of power and self autonomy. Grinding riffs and brooding beats swirl around her, as she vehemently grasps for control amongst the chaos. ‘Barricade’ is accompanied by a new set of visuals, which show Cure and her bandmates immersing themselves in their performance.

Vivienne Cure will be playing a London headline show at The Black Heart in Camden on Wednesday 22nd November. Support comes from Jo-Jo And The Teeth and industrial rock four piece DROWND. Tickets are available here.

Watch the video for ‘Barricade’ below.

Follow Vivienne Cure on Spotify, Facebook & Instagram

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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GUIDE & PLAYLIST: ArcTanGent Festival 2023

Event: ArcTanGent Festival

Where: Fernhill Farm, Bristol, England

When: Thursday 17th – Sunday 20th August 2023

Ticket Info:
3 day ticket: £190.50

Full ticket info and options (including day tickets & VIP packages) are available on DICE

General Info:
We’ve been keeping tabs on independent alternative festival ArcTanGent for a few years now, and their 2023 line-up looks better than ever! Described by Metal Hammer Magazine as “a haven of progressive music across the spectrum of all things heavy,” the festival aims to showcase an eclectic array of artists and bands across five alternating stages.

Things kick off early on Wednesday 16th August with special guest performances from a diverse range of upcoming alternative artists, but the official line-up starts on Thursday 17th August. There’s also a silent disco on each night from 11pm-3am.

Who’s Playing: Check out the full line-up here

There are so many excellent bands playing at ArcTanGent this year, it’s hard to pick favourites! As you all know, at Get In Her Ears, we focus on female, non-binary and LGBTQ+ talent, so beneath the official line-up poster below, there are some in depth recommendations about bands who we have championed via our website, Soho Radio show or live nights in recent years.

We have no doubt that these artists will put on a phenomenal show too: HEALTH, Devin Townsend, Russian Circles, SWANS, CONVERGE, Spurv, Deafheaven, PETBRICK, A Burial At Sea, Loathe and Birds In Row. You can get to know them all better by listening to our accompanying Spotify Playlist at the end of this feature.

BRUTUS

This heavy trio from Belgium will definitely be a festival highlight. We spoke to Brutus’ drummer and vocalist Stefanie Mannaerts ahead of the release of the band’s third album, Unison Life, back in 2022 and she spoke eloquently about the sheer determination that went into creating their strongest record to date. We also caught Brutus’ live at The Garage in London on their UK tour later that year, and they blew us away with their thunderous, triumphant, self-possessed sound. We overheard someone refer to Stefanie as “Bjork on drums,” which we think is an immense compliment. Read our full interview with her here.

CLT DRP

It feels cliche to say it, but Brighton trio CLT DRP (pronounced ‘clit drip’) are a band that need to be seen live to be fully appreciated. Blending punk vocals with wild, idiosyncratic guitar FX and phenomenal drumming; Annie, Scott and Daphne have an unparalleled energy when performing on stage together. We got caught up in the mosh pit for one of their four(!) sets at The Great Escape Festival in May, and we’ve only just recovered from it. We can’t wait to hear their upcoming album, Nothing Clever, Just Feelings, in full when it’s released in September.

STRAIGHT GIRL

This Leeds-based electronic artist is responsible for the first ever stage invasion at a Get In Her Ears gig! if that’s not incentive enough to turn up early for their DJ set on Wednesday, we don’t know what is? They filled the room with candid, chaotic queer joy and fierce synth-driven noise when they headlined for us at The Shacklewell Arms in East London in July. Checkout out some excellent pics that photographer Cassie Barnard took of them here.

TOKKY HORROR 

We still haven’t seen the formidable TOKKY HORROR play live, but we’re sure their wild blend of punk, rave and dance music will be a sensational experience not to be missed. We spoke to producer Zee earlier this year about the band’s latest EP, KAPPACORE, and the their ethos of making space in music for marginalised folks and making the mosh a safe and inclusive place. Read the full piece here.

ROLO TOMASSI

After almost two decades of playing together, Sheffield-based five-piece Rolo Tomassi have a distinctive sound that keeps their fans coming back for more. We caught them live at Camden’s Electric Ballroom in February, and we were dazzled by Eva Korman’s elastic vocal range, which was made all the more potent by the crystalline, visceral walls of sound her bandmates conjured.

We were also deeply impressed by their support act; genre-defying, Phoenix-based four-piece Holy Fawn. They have a collective intuition for balancing perfectly timed, blissfully noisy drop-ins alongside more shadowy, majestic sounds. This state of emotional flux is something the band captured on their recent album Dimensional Bleed, and it’s one that translates beautifully in a live setting.

NEW TALENT

These artists are completely new to us, but we recommend you check them out too:

GGGOLDDD, Chinese Football, Cultdreams, Svalbard, Bones Of Minerva, Pupil Slicer, LOS SARA FONTAN, Mountain Caller, Other Half, Parachute For Gordo, Heilung, Liturgy, Ashenspire, Lack The Low, Lys Morke, Witchsorrow, The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, The Callous Daoboys, fakeyourdeath, Naut, Every Hell and Thought Forms.

For more information visit the ArcTanGent official website

Check out our ArcTanGent Playlist below, led by tracks from some of the female & non-binary talent playing the festival this year!

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ALBUM: Weekend Recovery – ‘Esoteric’

A welcome follow-up to their riotous recent singles, Weekend Recovery’s latest third album Esoteric builds on the distinct sound the band has built for themselves.

The album leaps into action with ‘Chemtrails’, the wildly catchy refutation to misinformation that dropped late last year. It keeps the energy high for the next few tracks, solidifying the unique flavour of this band. Continuing the fierce attitude of ‘Chemtrails’, ‘Dangerous’ blasts into the ears with its fast drums and throbbing bass, juxtaposed with its subtle lyrics that are gifted a profound sense of social commentary by the sirens remixed into the background.

Third track, ‘In The Crowd’, features the album’s first guest appearance. Joel Arthur’s (Hydeout) vocals on this and also ‘No Saint’ later on offer a rich deep contrast to those offered by Weekend Recovery’s vocalist Lori. The way the two voices play off each make for a striking mirror and adds depth to the songs on which he appears – his softer bass rumble platforming Lori’s rich tones in a way that heightens the attitude in them.

Lori’s vocals in every song are imbued with a sardonic, sarcastic weight. It’s particularly evident in ‘I Don’t Like You Anyway’, which has fantastic amounts of sass and is pitched perfectly. Every jab she makes feels like you’re siding with her against the world, never the target of her derision.

The title track comes at the midpoint of the album. ‘Esoteric’ is wonderfully chosen to demonstrate how skilled this band can be. The heavy bass line and quick drums set the stage for the vocals and fuzzy guitars to scream, aching with feeling and capturing the essence of what makes Weekend Recovery unique.

The album mellows out as it goes on, flexing the band’s versatility and offering a counter to the rough attitude you’ve come to expect. The gentle tracks are no less powerful or memorable than the ones that roar, however; ‘Her’ being a stand out. The dips in pace launch into new emotional heights, using the layers of music to carry you along with its mood, before leaping back into the familiar Weekend Recovery punch of ‘No Guts All The Glory’.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=-v_6rwaxkjM

The arrangement takes you on a finely crafted emotional journey. The soft vulnerable songs feel like they’re exposing a hidden truth beneath the upbeat angry ones, hinting at a soft reaction to the same infuriating subject matters. Each song is a joy to experience on its own, but the relationship between the tracks carries a lot of power. The movement between songs tells its own story, whilst the construction of the album as a whole shows off how much thought and effort Weekend Recovery have put into constructing their music. 

Esoteric is out now via Criminal Records. Catch Weekend Recovery live at Tramlines Festival in Sheffied on 23rd July.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

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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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