CJ Monk
SHOPPING
Share new single, ‘Wild Child‘
Announce UK tour in February
New album The Official Body due 19th January on
FatCat Records – stream it on NPR
“Direct, smart, catchy, and extremely punk, Shopping is a band for our confusing times.” –Pitchfork
“Sparkling return from newly disco-fied conscious punks… a fine opportunity to dance until the end of the world.” – Q Magazine
“The Official Body tightens up their sound and adds a new sense of resolve.” – Uncut Magazine
“Shopping remain as idiosyncratic as they are addictive” – Loud and Quiet
“A breakneck, post-punk canter, cementing their status as monarchs of the UK DIY pop underground” – NME
“dizzying riffs and a post-punk rhythm section that makes people want to dance” – Stereogum
“Shopping’s ability to move minds and hips with equal success is still abundantly clear.” – DIY
Post-punk trio Shopping have shared a second single from their upcoming album, The Official Body, due 19th January 2018 on FatCat Records and recorded and produced by Edwyn Collins.
“Wild Child” sees the band acknowledging the cracks in the facade of one’s idols. “I was specifically thinking about the way some drag queens do this really well,” explains Rachel Aggs (guitar, vocals); “It’s about projecting the persona of someone who is always free, always partying and you can’t imagine them ever worrying about their work rota or buying cereal. It’s important to see through it, to know it’s fake but at the same time, it’s so intriguing and seductive. I think this anarchic, flamboyant spirit is really important to queer culture.”
Of the accompanying video, the band say, “We worked with our pal Jack Barraclough to create this showbiz fantasy! The video is set on the hot new talent show “Wild Child” where the distinguished panel of judges Iona Ferrari, DJ Raggs and Ruby Waters are searching for the next big thing! Through a succession of mediocre and bizarre auditions we almost lose hope! But finally our patience is rewarded when the judges come across a raw and unflinching talent – the talent to be a cute dog named Shrew. Ya either got it or ya don’t.”
“We called on a lot of friends to help make this video a reality and so many people gave up their time to do monotonous or bizarre tasks that we couldn’t even fit them all in! This video is for you! You’re all superstars, even if you’re on the cutting room floor.”
Shopping – Wild Child
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWvzFYTPrRw
Shopping have also announced a February tour of the UK, including a date at London’s Moth Club on 6th February. Full dates are as follows:
Thursday 1st February – Glasgow, Mono
Friday 2nd February – Newcastle, Cluny 2
Saturday 3rd February – Manchester, The Eagle Salford
Sunday 4th February – Nottingham, The Maze
Monday 5th February – Oxford, The Cellar
Tuesday 6th February – London, Moth Club
Wednesday 7th February – Bristol, Exchange w/ Colleen Green
About The Official Body:
Following the release of their 2013 debut Consumer Complaints, and 2015’s follow-up Why Choose, Shopping found themselves in an unrelenting cycle of touring, making their way across the UK, Europe, and the US.
In London, Power Lunches, a hub for the city’s DIY scene and the band’s usual rehearsal and writing space, closed down. Then their drummer, Andrew Milk, relocated to Glasgow, and the band could suddenly no longer spontaneously get together to practice or write. The distance added an element of pressure: “As a band that only ever writes collaboratively, it’s essential for us to actually be together in the room before any songs start to formulate. It can be a little daunting when we all turn up, and we only have an afternoon to pull a song out of thin air”.
Add to that a sprinkling of Brexit, Trump, a principally imploding world, and you’ve got yourself The Official Body— Shopping’s second album to be released on FatCat Records, recorded and produced by Edwyn Collins.
The themes that figure in the songs are indeed weighty. For instance, in Suddenly Gone, while a razor-sharp guitar sound punctuates the track’s rhythmic urgency, Rachel refers to “feeling used and undervalued as a queer and/or person of colour making music or art.” Or the track Wild Child, a dancey number led by Billy’s sweeping bassline, in which the lyrics talk about acknowledging the cracks in the facade of one’s idols, who aren’t always able to keep up the facade. “I was specifically thinking about the way some drag queens do this really well,” explains Aggs; “It’s about projecting the persona of someone who is always free, always partying and you can’t imagine them ever worrying about their work rota or buying cereal. It’s important to see through it, to know it’s fake but at the same time, it’s so intriguing and seductive. I think this anarchic, flamboyant spirit is really important to queer culture.”
While it may have been tempting to adopt a more serious tone, Shopping remained humorous in their approach — the album’s title (established before any of the songs were written), The Official Body, is a play on the idea of official bodies of power and control, “the mystical powers that be” as Billy Easter (bass) deems them, as well as the construct of a physical body that fits within the societal paradigm of what is “acceptable.”
The thematic gravitas of the album contrasts with the band’s evolving sound. Seeking to “amp up the party vibe,” the trio added synth and drum pads to their customary guitar-drums-bass set-up. Recorded over 10 days by Edwyn Collins at his Clashnarrow studio, The Official Body stays true to the minimal dance-punk ethos of Shopping’s previous releases, fans of which will undoubtedly find this logical unfolding of their musical approach thoroughly satisfying.
Shopping is:
Rachel Aggs (guitar, vocals), Billy Easter (bass, vocals), Andrew Milk (drums, vocals)
Preorder:
https://fat-cat.co.uk/release/the-official-body
Album Artwork:
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