VENUS GRRRLS draw on Carmilla’s dark romance for new single and UK tour
VENUS GRRRLS have released Carmilla, a gothic new single inspired by Sheridan Le Fanu’s pioneering vampire novella, ahead of forthcoming EP To Die as Lovers May.
Due out on 16 October via Killabop, the five-track release will be the band’s first physical EP, arriving on CD and vinyl, including a blood-red vinyl edition. Carmilla follows earlier singles Mother Knows and Eve, continuing the Leeds outfit’s exploration of dark romanticism, desire and decay.
Built around 1980s goth and industrial textures, Carmilla brings the seductive menace of Le Fanu’s 1872 story into the band’s shadowy grunge-leaning sound. Its accompanying video was filmed partly at Whitby Abbey in collaboration with English Heritage, placing the track in the Yorkshire setting synonymous with Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Le Fanu’s novel is widely regarded as an influence on Stoker’s later vampire classic.
A song born from a midnight chapel
Vocalist GK says the song came together immediately after reading the novel for the first time.
“The inspiration for the song was instantaneous after finishing my first read of Sheridan Le Fanu’s novel, Carmilla. The EP’s title, To Die as Lovers May, is taken from an extract in the novel, which actually predated Dracula.
“Lyrically, I certainly wanted to capture the contrast of allure and passion with the lethality and confrontation of romance with a vampire. It’s dark and forbidden, but it’s enticing and everlasting. I think this tender balance that exists in between the cracks of love and death is what the entire EP is exploring.”
GK also recalled recording parts of the vocal in Spain during an unusual late-night session. “I recorded the vocals at 3am after three glasses of red wine in the Spanish mountains; some even recorded in an abandoned chapel. We all walked in the pitch black to find this chapel with our producer, Brad, in the middle of the night. It felt like some sort of gloomy pilgrimage.”
“It aided us in capturing the atmosphere that’s so masterfully present throughout the novel. An eeriness that’s a bit sexy. It was particularly cathartic to record a song about lesbian vampires in an old chapel.”
Five tracks of romance, death and decay
To Die as Lovers May was recorded with producer Brad Mair in Spain. The band describe the EP as an exploration of “death, love, and viscera”, drawing from 19th-century literature, mythology, 1990s grunge and 1980s goth.
The full track listing is below.
- Eve
- Carmilla
- Mother Knows
- Evergreen
- Wormfood
Halloween run opens in Glasgow
VENUS GRRRLS will take the new material on the road at the end of October, beginning with a Glasgow date before heading through Newcastle, Stockton, Nottingham, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Liverpool and Leeds. The run includes a Halloween night show at Nottingham’s Bodega.
- 28 Oct – Glasgow, Audio
- 29 Oct – Newcastle, Cluny 2
- 30 Oct – Stockton, Georgian Theatre
- 31 Oct – Nottingham, Bodega
- 02 Nov – Bristol, Exchange
- 03 Nov – Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach
- 04 Nov – London, The Lower Third
- 06 Nov – Liverpool, O2 Academy 2
- 07 Nov – Leeds, Belgrave Music Hall
- 14 Nov – Sheffield, Network Stage 2, Echosound Festival
- 27 Nov – Gothenburg, Musikens Hus, Viva Sounds Festival
More Venus Grrrls on Punkinfocus: Live review: 2000trees Festival 2026 – Opening-Day Mayhem at Upcote Farm (July 2026) · Live review: Nova Twins Bring Genre-Defying Firepower to Brighton (March 2026)
