Violent Soho
with The Reptiles
» Melanie Horsnell - Troubadour, The, Wed, December 17
» Spiral Stairs - Troubadour, The, Thu, January 29
» Deloris - Troubadour, The, January 5, 2007
» The Rogers Sisters - Troubadour, The, October 7, 2006
Violent Soho descend from the Brisbane suburb of Mansfield, the fundamentalist Christian epicenter that is far from a heaven on earth. Saturated with schools programming a constant flow of conservative holy followers, it’s unlikely to ever evolve. Excusing annual theatrical reenactments of the nativity, the suburb is a cultural wasteland; a dead-end that only inspires creative types to get up and leave. Thankfully it numbed these four youths with enough boredom to band together as a slacker punk, grunge outfit.
Sharing a disdain for their home town, Luke Boerdam (Vocals/Guitar), James Tidwell (Guitar), Luke Henery (Bass) and Michael Richards (Drums) rehearsed their cynical destruction in their parents’ garages. The band’s cacophonies echoed a communal fascination of the 80s and 90s American indie underground, which bred the likes of The Wipers, Sonic Youth, The Pixies and Flipper. Rehearsals would transform into live performance, ending in devastated gear constantly in need of urgent repair. They soon had the arsenal to break through the garage roller door and fully submerge themselves in the Brisbane live music community.
We Don’t Belong Here documents their finest studio work, spanning three years and numerous sessions at two recording studios - Headgap in Melbourne and Zero Interference in Brisbane (produced by Dean Dirt and recorded by Sloth and Bryce Moorehead respectively). With tracks as disparate as Love is a Heavy Word, Muscle Junkie, Jesus Stole My Girlfriend, Generation and Outsider, Violent Soho’s debut full-length displays a broad scope and versatile approach to songwriting.
The album is shredded open with driving power and fierce rejection. Love is a Heavy Word - just added to rotation over at Triple J -relentlessly propels the band to new extremes setting a high standard for subsequent songs.
Amidst putting together We Don’t Belong Here, Violent Soho have toured extensively, playing shows with key local outfits Faker, The Mess Hall, Grinspoon, Magic Dirt, The Hard-Ons, I Heart Hiroshima and Eddy Current Suppression Ring, in addition to international supports for the Black Keys (US), Jackson United (US) and Nashville Pussy (US). The band were also one of the few acts to play the east coast circuit of this year’s Laneway Festival prior to an official release.
