The London band conjure up a towering wall of sonic onslaught with a heady mix of shoegaze and post-punk.
Words by Brad Harris
In a new decade already beset by systemic racial injustices, government inadequacies and the boredom of permanent indoor living, the social contract is certainly worthy of interrogating. Sure, we accept that our states protect our rights, but does that mean we give our consent when it fails to protect all of us; when it’s decisions result in the loss of lives; to police brutality?
Fitting then that Social Contract should return to us now after having graced us back in 2019 with their charging EP, Common Tongue. Taking cues from the likes of Protomartyr, Iceage and a common love of the vernacular of metal, new single Waterside Mews continues the development of their destructive sound, investigating the morbid image of a lifeless figure tied naked to a tree, eerily reminiscent of certain dark moments in recent history.
As vocalist Josh Eggerton explains, “I decided to write the lyrics through the eyes of whoever first discovered him and how both they and the local press would have tried to digest what had happened.” As an echo of this striking imagery, the rest of the band conjure up a towering wall of sonic onslaught with a heady mix of shoegaze and post-punk before sliding into a glacial pace towards the track’s end, winding down in true Mogwai fashion to leave us alone with the weight of what has come before.
Their second EP Buzzards Wake will arrive on March 12th via Pantherburn Records. Find the band on Spotify here.
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