Weekly Journal

Underground punk in "For Free" from Virgin Mary Disco!

Well structured punk following the lines of the classics of the genre in those two singles, "For Free" and "Automation"!

Taking cues from the likes of post-punk and new wave forerunners Joy Division, New Order and The Cure, and 70s punk heavyweights like The Clash,Virgin Mary Disco have carved out a sonic sweet spot that lies somewhere between the raw grittiness of underground punk, and the alluring sleaziness of mid-2000s indie.

In "For Free" the and explores more groove punk lines keeping the raw lines with sharp, neat guitar riffs!

The year is not yet over, and Virgin Mary Disco are taking no prisoners. 2023 has seen the release of two brand spanking new singles from the up-and-comers, and they continue the onslaught with the new painfully catchy ‘For Free’.

Coming in at well under 3 minutes, the track stays true to the band’s ethos of delivering short, sharp, punchy nuggets of musical gold. Steady verse, powerful chorus, strong guitars, propulsive drums, and crowd-heaving energy; all boxes are well and truly ticked. The track was recorded at Head Gap in Preston with Rohan Sforcina (Little Ugly Girls, Mildlife, Rolling Blackouts C.F.)

It’s been a massive year for the band who released their debut single only 8 months ago. Their previous two singles (‘Modern Man’ and ‘Automation’) have been garnering praise from media and fans alike, with ongoing support from radio such as PBS, 4ZZZ and 2XX, and sold out single launches. In more recent news, the band have also just announced that they will be supporting Amyl and The Sniffers at their Frankston show on November 25th.

“The song is about the experience of employment in the modern workplace and capitalism. The lyrics for ‘For Free’ came from my own mishearing of the song ‘Making Flippy Floppy’ by Talking Heads. When Byrne sings ‘Business and pleasure, lie right to your face’, I always heard ‘Business IS pleasure’, a contradiction I could identify with, and the lyrics grew from there. Many companies today present themselves as supportive, community environments (some may even be genuine in their pursuit), but at the end of the day they continue to thrive on a system based on the extraction of cheap resources and cheap labour, leaving us to pay the true cost of their greed.”

Spencer Morris, Virgin Mary Disco

“The music for 'For Free' originally came from a spontaneous jam at practice several years ago. Liam had a bassline, and I came up with the guitar part and chorus pretty instinctively. The vague intention I had with the guitar part was somewhere between surf rock and The Smiths. During recording I told Rohan my original intent of sounding surf rock and he lent me his vintage 60s fender jaguar, a staple of surf rock classics, to give the guitar solo a distinctly dry and tremolo heavy tone. I think there is still some Smiths influence in the funky bass line and clean tone and it has a very danceable feel.”

Duncan Callaghan, Virgin Mary Disco

"Automation" released prior to "For Free" going into the darkest side of the band, creating an uptempo, raw, post-punk sound with beautiful guitars, and a great finsh. 

'Automation' is a lively, unruly, and unapologetic track. Deep-toned vocals catch on the heavy bassline. Introducing the melodic synth flourishes and rapid guitars, the single explodes into a chorus worthy of chanting. Following a similar rise and fall throughout, 'Automation' feels like a cliffhanger before being thrown into echoing vocals, ringing guitars, and head-banging-worthy drums. 

Lyrically influenced by the continuous transformation of the workforce, Virgin Mary Disco’s 'Automation' is from the perspective of an AI machine overtaking earth. Set in a world run by the machine due to humans failing to take care of the earth in an efficient and organised manner, even the billionaires are scared.

Info:

https://www.instagram.com/virginmarydisco/

https://www.tiktok.com/@virginmarydisco

https://soundcloud.com/virginmarydisco

https://open.spotify.com/artist/65L7qulnnfFTVZj7mkadvV

https://music.apple.com/au/artist/virgin-mary-disco/1661103102