girls in synthesis: the rest is distraction

Experimental post-punk outfit Girls In Synthesis are set to release the eagerly anticipated follow-up to 2020's incendiary debut, Now Here's An Echo From Your Future. Entitled The Rest Is Distraction and available via the band's own label Own It, its mix of fractured guitar, crushing drums and bass, intense vocals and lyrical content create as challenging a record as you will hear this year. Formed in 2016, Girls In Synthesis are John Linger (bass, vocals), Jim Cubitt (guitar, keys), and Nicole Pinto (drums). The trio's double A-sided debut single The Mound/Disappear came out in the early part of 2017, and since then they have established themselves as the most forward thinking, viscerally challenging band around with unmissable live shows that continue to excite and astound in equal measure. Recorded last year amidst the uncertainty of continuous lockdowns as a result of the global Covid-19 pandemic, The Rest Is Distraction is far darker in content than its predecessor. Mainly exploring internal and mental struggles as opposed to external current affairs, it focuses on the claustrophobia of emotional anguish and continues to bravely delve into previously un-ventured topics. Featuring frequent collaborators funkcutter and Stanley Bad on horns and violin, respectively, two songs also see Eleni Poulou, ex-The Fall, on keyboards. The album was mixed by long-term collaborator Max Walker and features stunning landscape photography by Bea Dewhurst. The album was mastered in France by Ayumu Matsuo. Sonically atramentous and less one dimensional than the band's debut, The Rest Is Distraction takes its cues from Join Hands-era Siouxsie & The Banshees, Brainiac and Crass's Christ The Album, among others. From the first crackle of electricity on the opening track, to the heart wrenching taped voice-recording on the final outro, this album triumphantly retains every ounce of intensity and vitality that makes Girls In Synthesis the most captivating band to emerge from the UK DIY underground in recent years. Listeners will find The Rest Is Distraction a challenging, yet ultimately cathartic listen. Prepare yourselves for a sonic cleansing, Girls In Synthesis style.