UK queercore duo DEATH GOALS have today shared a new single, titled P.A.N.S.Y, from their forthcoming second album, A Garden of Dead Flowers. DEATH GOALS have also released an accompanying visualizer for the track – which you can watch in full below. The pair also recently announced May UK tour dates in support of their sophomore album, with further info on all shows below.
A Garden of Dead Flowers is due out on May 5 via Prosthetic Records.
WATCH THE VISUALIZER FOR
P.A.N.S.Y BELOW.
Stream P.A.N.S.Y via Apple Music, TIDAL, Deezer, Bandcamp and Spotify
Pre-order A Garden of Dead Flowers here.
Speaking on the single release, DEATH GOALS comment: “P.A.N.S.Y is a song about being queer when you’re young, and having to hide this part of you away from people. We wanted to write a song that really captured not only the dismays of not being able to be true to yourself, but also the fun and magic of finding yourself even in light of this. This track is going to be a really fun one live, and we can’t wait to get out there and start playing it!”
Whilst bands are often prone to describing their latest opus as a progression, in the case of DEATH GOALS it very much is – and there were signposts towards their burgeoning intentions on 2021 full-length The Horrible and the Miserable’s closing track. Nothing Left To Give was the only song to feature clean vocals and paved the way towards what is now just around the corner with A Garden of Dead Flowers. This album also sees the pairing of Harry Bailey and George Milner embrace being defined as a queer hardcore band; their experiences – both good and bad – with that label and its accoutrements are documented throughout.
From album the album opener – the wonderfully titled Genderless Clones of Gameshow Hosts – through to the joyously provocative closer, Faux Macho, Harry and George guide listeners through secret woodland hookups, fighting against queer erasure, nightmarish middle of the night fears, addiction and rehab, dysphoria, and – potentially most importantly – euphoric community acceptance.
Sonically, the pair have expanded their palette – arguably a happy by-product of feeling more comfortable in their own skins and within the band’s identity. With more time and focus dedicated to shaping and re-working the songs in pre-production, the 11 tracks on A Garden of Dead Flowers are more cohesive and well-rounded than ever before. Recording took place over just five days in April 2022 with Tom Hill at Bookhouse Recording studio in London, UK. Whilst they stay true to their chaotic hardcore nucleus, there are flourishes of noise, sludge, and even black metal speckled throughout.The flowers of the album name are motifs of members of the queer community; trampled, crushed and oppressed by policies, politics and society itself. The title track revisits the content of the song Exit Wounds on their debut – detailing an experience in rehab – but this time through the lens of increased queer self-acceptance and ownership. Whilst there are undoubtedly dark moments on A Garden of Dead Flowers, DEATH GOALS are gleefully antagonistic and have created an engaging anthology of reflections on lived experiences, offering up hope, support and community to those around them.
DEATH GOALSA Garden of Dead Flowers UK release tour dates
May 9 – Crofters Rights – Bristol, UK
May 10 – The Moon – Cardiff, UK
May 11 – The Victoria – Birmingham, UK
May 12 – Outpost – Liverpool, UK
May 13 – TBA – Leeds, UK
May 14 – Little Buildings – Newcastle, UK
May 15 – 13th Note – Glasgow, UK
May 16 – Chameleon – Nottingham, UK
May 17 – Cowley Club – Brighton, UK
w/ support from Vicarage
A Garden of Dead Flowers tracklist:
1. Genderless Clones of Game Show Hosts
2. A Garden of Dead Flowers
3. Ultraviolence
4. Loveless
5. P.A.N.S.Y.
6. Death Goals In Cursive
7. I Wouldn’t Be Caught Dead (Taking A Bullet For You)
8. If I’m the Enemy Then Who’s the Protagonist?
9. Last Night I Had A Dream About Death
10. Year of the Guillotine
11. Faux Macho
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