Vulture Culture is set for release 5 July via Vertiga Records.
So much of the best art, the best music, is exorcism, primal scream, raw and brutal honesty. The act of gathering up all of your fear, paranoia, addiction, love and despair and hurling it into a microphone, ripping it out of a guitar. Just such a record is Fangclub’s second album Vulture Culture, an emotional maelstrom of violence, mental illness, suicide, social vampirism, drug overdoses and not a little romance, howled out in some of the most infectious and visceral rock music of the decade.
Set for a 5 July release on Vertigo Records, Fangclub’s Vulture Culture, was recorded during an isolated, month-long stint at Giant Wafer Studios in Wales with producer duo Alex Loring & Tom Andrews, that tested and toyed with the band. “We always work best in isolation,” says drummer Dara Coleman. “I jokingly went into it saying ‘I’m willing to lose my mind for this album’. Around day twenty, things started getting weird – I started getting paranoid that everyone in the house hated me”. “There was a real atmosphere of obsession from everybody,” adds Vocalist/Guitarist Steven King. “It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever done. The theme of the album became violent, there’s a lot of violence in the tone of it, towards yourself and other things.”
Steven forced himself to write his lyrics at the last minute, to ensure they were as raw and honest as possible. “It comes off as a heavier record because I didn’t have time to hide the real stories. It really captured something. The pressure added to it, like ‘that line’s pretty revealing but I have to put it down, I don’t have anything else’. We could’ve gone in and made another debut, this punk thing with loads of hooks, or I could back myself into a corner. It’s a strangely revealing and personal album but I don’t feel afraid to share it because it’s almost as if I’ve expelled the things.”
In summing up Vulture Culture, Steven says “We are so proud of this record. It’s a culmination of a lot of chaos and inner mental violence which almost capsized the band. Making this record got us through the fog and we have a new lease of life. The energy is real, the chaos makes sense and the violence is fuel for the fire.”
Already packing the summer out with festivals, an incredible support slot with Metallica and with a headline UK and EU tour this autumn, catch Fangclub live at one of the following shows:
1 June – Hulst, Netherlands, Vestrock Festival
8 June – Co. Meath, Ireland – Slane Castle (Supporting Metallica)
26 July – Standon, UK, Standon Calling Festival
27 July – Pikehall, UK, Y-Not Festival
15 August – Zurich, Switzerland, Musikfestwochen Festival
2 October – Liverpool, Zanzibar
3 October – Leeds, Hyde Park Book Club
5 October – Glasgow, The Attic Bar
6 October – Newcastle, Riverside 2
7 October – Edinburgh, The Mash House
9 October – Hull, Adelphi
10 October – Manchester, Night People
11 October – Birmingham, Sunflower Lounge
12 October – Guilford, Boileroom
13 October – Bristol, Crofters Rights
14 October – Exeter, Cavern Club
16 October – London, Camden Assembly
17 October – St. Albans, The Horn
19 October – Brighton, The Green Door Store
20 October – Southampton, Joiners
24 October – Zurich, Werk 21
25 October – Nyon, La Paranthese
27 October – Munich, Folks! Club
28 October – Vienna, Arena
30 October – Berlin, Auster Club
31 October – Hamburg, Hafenklang
3 November – Netherlands, Cinetol
13 December – Dublin, Button Factory
Vulture Culture Track Listing
1: Last Time
2: Vulture Culture
3: Nightmare
4: Viva Violent
5: Every Day
6: Hesitations
7: Kingdumb
8: Heavy Handed
9: All I Have
10: Black Rainbow
11: Slow
High Fives & Stage Dives 