Experimental post-punk outfit GIRLS IN SYNTHESIS are set to release the eagerly anticipated follow-up to 2020’s incendiary debut, ‘Now Here’s An Echo From Your Future’. Entitled ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ and available this coming October 14th via the band’s own label Own It/Cargo Records, it’s mix of fractured guitar, crushing drums and bass, intense vocals and lyrical content – create as challenging a record as you will hear this year.
Formed in 2016, GIRLS IN SYNTHESIS are John Linger (bass / vocals), Jim Cubitt (guitar / keys) and Nicole Pinto (drums). The trio’s double a-sided debut single ‘The Mound’/’Disappear’ came out in the early part of 2017, and since then they have established themselves as the most forward thinking, viscerally challenging band around with unmissable live shows that continue to excite and astound in equal measure.
Recorded last year amidst the uncertainty of continuous lockdowns as a result of the global Covid-19 pandemic, ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ is far darker in content than its predecessor. Mainly exploring internal and mental struggles as opposed to external current affairs, it focuses on the claustrophobia of emotional anguish and continues to bravely delve into previously unventured topics. Featuring frequent collaborators funkcutter and Stanley Bad on horns and violin, respectively, two songs also see Eleni Poulou, ex-The Fall, on keyboards. The album was mixed by long-term collaborator Max Walker, with stunning landscape photographer by Bea Dewhurst. The album was mastered in France by Ayumu Matsuo.
Today, we get the first taste of the new album in ‘Watch With Mother’; a song based around flashback memories of a narrator interpreting a dark parental relationship.
“‘Watch With Mother’, like the some of the rest of the album, takes a darker look at family dynamics and the way in which we’re shaped by them. The music is more expansive, too, and is the perfect match for the lyrics. We were trying to approach things differently this time round,” explains bassist/vocalist John.
“The video was created with long-time collaborators Soft Surface and brings the family message into sharp focus; singer John, seemingly an apparition, witnesses many seemingly innocent family scenes while addressing the camera directly, almost narratively. This is interspersed with intense band footage, creating a dark and atmospheric visual backdrop to the song. This track is like a calling card for the album. It retains the intensity of our previous releases but builds on it with some different sounds and structure. I don’t think anyone is sounding like this at the moment. No one is tackling the subjects featured on the album,” states guitarist Jim.
Watch the ‘Watch With Mother’ video HERE:
Sonically atramentous and less one dimensional than the band’s debut, ‘The Rest Is Distraction’, takes its cues from ‘Join Hands’ era Siouxsie & The Banshees, Brainiac and Crass’ ‘Christ The Album’, among others. From the first crackle of electricity on the opening track, to the heart wrenching taped voice-recording on the final outro, this LP triumphantly retains every ounce of intensity and vitality that makes Girls In Synthesis THE most captivating band to emerge from the UK DIY underground in recent years.
The full track listing for ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ is as follows:
‘It’s All Beginning To Change’
‘Watch With Mother’
‘Total Control’
‘Swallowed Pill’
‘Screaming’
‘My Husband’
‘Cottage Industry’
‘Not As I Do’
‘Lacking Bite’
‘Your Prayers’
‘To A Fault’
‘The Rest Is Distraction’ comes out on Friday 14th October 2022 via the band’s own label Own It/Cargo Records and is available for pre-order HERE:
Catch the band live at the following dates:
10/09/22 – VIENNA – Pankahyttn
13/10/22 – NORTHAMPTON – Black Prince
14/10/22 – LONDON – The Lexington
15/10/22 – TUNBRIDGE WELLS – Sussex Arms
19/10/22 – BRISTOL – The Louisiana
20/10/22 – MANCHESTER – The Peer Hat
21/10/22 – NOTTINGHAM – Bodega
22/10/22 – BRIGHTON – Green Door Store
09/11/22 – GHENT – Bar Bricolage [w. Cocaine Piss]
10/11/22 – BRUSSELS – Magasin4
11/11/22 – TOURNAI – Water Moulin
12/11/22 – SIEGEN – Veb Siegen
13/11/22 – HAMBURG – Westwerk
14/11/22 – COPENHAGEN – Rahuset
15/11/22 – ODENSE – Posten
16/11/22 – BERLIN – Urban Spree
17/11/22 – FRIEBURG – Slow Club
18/11/22 – WURZBURG – Cafe Cairo
19/11/22 – NUREMBERG – Desi
20/11/22 – UTRECHT – Db’s
07/12/22 – GLASGOW – The Flying Duck
08/12/22 – NEWCASTLE – Zerox
09/12/22 – HULL – The Adelphi
10/12/22 – BIRMINGHAM – Dark Horse