Memphis-based punk Band Nots are grappling with a post-truth political climate in their native country.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Harnessing their apprehension for 2016 album Cosmetic and latest single Anxious Trend, vocalist and guitarist Natalie Hoffman said the extreme situation couldn’t avoid influencing their creative output.
“The idea of facts and truth and fact-checking has been absolutely thrown out the window, in favour of a president which prioritises being a twisted entertainment source,” she said.
“Cosmetic was written at a time when Trump was not elected, and it wasn’t just about Trump, because we have to recognise what created Trump. That was what I wanted to talk about more than him.
“You start to feel like the curtain has really been pulled back in America, which is not good, because it makes people feel like they’re stuck and can’t mobilise.
“Those kind of negative feelings that you can’t change anything and aren’t productive either, so a certain amount of critique and little bit of cynicism is important at this point.”
It's a bit impossible not to be influenced by the state of American politics in some way, even if you think you’re just writing songs about nothing or partying.
- Nots vocalist Natalie Hoffmann
The four-piece is playing The Eastern on Sunday as part of their first Australian tour. Their single Anxious Trends zeroes in on the turmoil some Americans are currently feeling, with ominous, buzzing synths laid over relentless vocals and escalating guitar riffs.
The single was recorded entirely to tape, because Hoffman said it was “harder to overthink it when you record directly to tape”.
The all-female line up of Hoffman, Charlotte Watson (drums), Alexandra Eastburn (synths) and Meredith Lones (bass) was born from being in the same scene and “drunkenly deciding to all become a band together.”
“There’s been a big shift in how people are becoming less surprised to see a woman onstage," she said.
“We have the internet and we have access to knowing about a lot of different types of music, it has become easier to know about and see more women playing.
“Being genre-less is important to me, it’s good to push the boundaries of what your music sounds like and where it fits in.”
Nots hits The Eastern on Sunday, tickets $15. Support acts TERRY, PAPPY and Lymes.