(Photo Credit: Izzie Austin)
RVG – the Melbourne post-punk band of lyricist/frontwoman Romy Vager, guitarist Rueben Bloxham, drummer Marc Nolte, and bassist Isabele Wallace – share new single “Squid” from their forthcoming album Brain Worms, out June 2nd on Fire Records. Following lead single “Nothing Really Changes,” which debuted in the top 3 of the Published Top 10 singles chart at specialty radio in the U.S., “Squid” powers through the walls of realism and out the other side, imagining what might happen if we were to go back in time, step on something, and … become a squid. “I didn’t intend to be // Some hideous turquoise thing // Some hideous third thing,” Vager sings, bringing an earnestness and desperation so real that feelings suddenly cut through the song’s absurdity.
All throughout Brain Worms, it’s apparent that RVG is in very fine form. Named for the recognizable experience of each day bearing witness to a world of private obsessions being aired out in the infinite, Brain Worms may not be wholly new territory for the Melbourne post-punk band, but this time around, there’s a newfound radical acceptance glistening overtop everything. Recorded in London at Snap Studios with James Trevascus (Billy Nomates, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, The Goon Sax), all ten Brain Worms tracks surge with lush sounds and clear intentions. RVG have moved past their influences, pushed themselves, and tried new things. And they made a record they can call their best.
After a momentous first five years — finding critical acclaim for their 2017 debut A Quality of Mercy, landing on countless end-of-year Best Of lists, and playing alongside some of the world’s biggest acts — RVG released their second album Feral as the world was locking down in 2020. Feral was hailed by Rolling Stone Australia as “the record of a lifetime,” but between the four bandmates, Brain Worms is the most confident they’ve ever felt in RVG. “If we could only make one more album, it would be this one,” says Vager.
Watch RVG’s “Nothing Really Changes” Video
RVG Tour Dates:
Mon. Apr. 17 – Cardiff, UK @ Tramshed (w/ Billy Nomates)
Wed. Apr. 19 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms (w/ Billy Nomates)
Thu. Apr. 20 – Manchester, UK @ New Century Hall (w/ Billy Nomates)
Fri. Apr. 21 – Leeds, UK @ LUU-Stylus (w/ Billy Nomates)
Sat. Apr. 22 – Glasgow, UK @ QMU (w/ Billy Nomates)
Mon. Apr. 24 – Newcastle, UK @ Boiler Shop (w/ Billy Nomates)
Tue. Apr. 25 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Institute Birmingham (w/ Billy Nomates)
Thu. Apr. 27 – London, UK @ O2 Forum Kentish Town (w/ Billy Nomates)
Fri. Apr. 28 – Brighton, UK @ CHALK Live (w/ Billy Nomates)
Sat. Apr. 29 – Bristol, UK @ Marble Factory (w/ Billy Nomates)
Tue. May 2 – Paris, FR @ Supersonic
Thu. May 4 – Rotterdam, NL @ V11
Fri. May 5 – Haldern-Rees, DE @ Haldern Pop Bar
Sun. May 7 – Nijmegen, NL @ Merleyn
Keep your mind open.
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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]
