Shouldies - :) - VINYL LP

2019 finds veteran indie tag Graveface Records (home to Casket Girls, Xiu Xiu, Appleseed Cast and more) charting some new/old territory. They're starting a subsidiary of Graveface called NEVERNOTGOTH. NNG will be home to many reissues of obscure darkwave/goth LPs but also will showcase some new talent making waves in the genre today. The first on this new sub-imprint (GOTH001) is by Atlanta's Shouldies. Attention all goth kids, pop princesses, darkwave divas the new sound still isn't rock and roll. At least not to Shouldies, a synth punk trio consisting of Yancey Ballard, John Pierce, and Daniel Eberlein, on a mission to fuse dance with a relatable dose of realness - but make it goth. The group rose from the ashes of the Atlanta music scene in 2017 to serve darkwave to the buttcracks and crevices of the city's sprawling highways and bigots, dance on the ghost of your face as you sit in the 5 o'clock traffic, whisper in your ear when you frequent, yet again, that bar with the shitty men. With lyrics that sound like the most profound page of your emo phase (but make it political), Shouldies layer earnest pacing over a soft fury of synth.You'll have a chance to let that sink in, as the alluring synthscape works in tandem with direct message - Eberlein and Pierce can be seen onstage focused intently on creating the backdrop for Ballard's delivery. Introspective ideas manifest into broader themes. Ballard recently commented on Atlanta's deceptively close proximity to homophobia and transphobia in Kerrang! InchA lot of the time, it's a fight to be heard because it's not 'as dangerous' as it is outside [Atlanta's perimeters]. People don't care about microaggressions. People don't care about discomfort. People care less than they should about full-on aggression because at least it's 'safer' here. 'At least it happens less'. 'It could be worse'.InchLife-long friends Ballar