Venus Grrrls unveil Mother Knows and detail To Die as Lovers May EP
Venus Grrrls have released their new single Mother Knows while announcing a new EP, To Die as Lovers May, due on 16 October via Killabop.
The Leeds alt-rock quartet’s latest track leans into gothic imagery and an expansive, riff-led arrangement, with vocalist GK drawing on the disputed story that Mary Shelley had sex on her mother’s grave.
GK says: “Mother Knows is written about the myth of Mary Shelley having sex on her mother’s grave. There’s a lot of discourse and nuances to whether this truly happened, but the alleged event really struck me visually and immediately inspired me to narrate it lyrically.
“Toying with some imagery in her iconic novel, Frankenstein, I wanted there to be a double entendre within the lyricism. Her written character, Victor Frankenstein, brought flesh to life, and I liked the idea of passion and sex also metaphorically bringing flesh to life, too.”
Guitarist Eliza Lee brings a more unusual texture to the track’s bridge, using a violin bow on her guitar to heighten its spectral atmosphere.
“I got to channel some of my inner 70s rock god by bowing the guitar on the bridge,” Lee explains. “I’ve always loved the haunting effect you can get with a violin bow that I don’t really think you can replicate with gadgetry; it felt like the right move for the graveyard ambience of the song.”
A five-track study in romance and decay
To Die as Lovers May follows the previously released Eve and gathers five tracks shaped by dark romanticism, grunge weight and goth-tinged atmospherics. The EP was recorded with producer Brad Mair in Spain and will be available on CD and vinyl, with physical pre-orders set to follow.
The band say: “To Die as Lovers May is an exploration of death, love, and viscera. Drawing heavily on dark romanticism, it explores the beauty amongst the macabre and the vision that lives amidst the fog.”
The full track listing is:
- Eve
- Carmilla
- Mother Knows
- Evergreen
- Wormfood
Pre-save To Die as Lovers May here.
UK headline dates arrive with the EP
Venus Grrrls will take the new material on the road for a UK headline run spanning late October and early November, beginning in Glasgow and closing at Leeds’ Belgrave Music Hall. The band also have festival appearances in Vienna, Sheffield and Gothenburg scheduled around the tour.
- 28 October – Glasgow, Audio
- 29 October – Newcastle, Cluny 2
- 30 October – Stockton, Georgian Theatre
- 31 October – Nottingham, Bodega
- 2 November – Bristol, Exchange
- 3 November – Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach
- 4 November – London, The Lower Third
- 6 November – Liverpool, O2 Academy 2
- 7 November – Leeds, Belgrave Music Hall
- 2 October – Vienna, Austria, Waves Festival
- 14 November – Sheffield, Network Stage 2, Echosound Festival
- 27 November – Gothenburg, Sweden, Musikens Hus, Viva Sounds Festival
