Death Goals have released the brand new single ‘Tchotchke’ (feat. Jenna Pup of HIRS Collective).
Death Goals speak on the themes inherent on the new track…
“Tchotchke is about the queer experience of being fetishised by members of the heterosexual community; the casual ‘harmless’ flirtation of a drunk straight friend, or the anonymous message on social media recounting all the sordid ways they’ve thought about you that evening. Queer people don’t exist to be objects of lust; we deserve love just as much as anybody else.”
To add to the excitement, the duo have also announced their forthcoming EP ‘Survival Is An Act Of Defiance‘ (set to be self-released on August 29th).
‘Survival Is An Act Of Defiance’ is Death Goals’ most politically-charged and aggressive release to date; joined by a host of queer guest vocalists (members of HIRS Collective, Burner, Cainhurst and Victim Unit) the band wrote this EP across 2024 as a real-time response to the ever-growing hatred and persecution of the queer community.
“Queerness, community and the overcoming of adversity are the major lyrical themes of Survival Is An Act Of Defiance. Whilst we’ve never refrained from including these in prior releases, it was integral that they were at the foreground of these songs, we wanted to offer not just an expression of despair but one of hope and togetherness in a time where that seems unthinkable.
The Queercore community has always been a family to us, and as we wrote this EP we knew we wanted to embrace that fact. We are so grateful to our friends from Burner, Cainhurst, Victim Unit and HIRS Collective for lending their incredible voices to these songs, it makes the whole release feel extra special to us.” – Harry Bailey (guitar/vocals)
New EP ‘Survival Is An Act Of Defiance‘ out August 29th
‘Survival Is An Act Of Defiance’ is the new EP from UK Queercore duo Death Goals; composed of Harry Bailey (guitar/vocals) and George Milner (drums/vocals). The bands’ lyrics are focused around the lives & struggles of the queer community (which Harry & George are both part of).
Since 2021 the band have released two studio albums, The Horrible & The Miserable (2021, self-release) and A Garden Of Dead Flowers (2023, Prosthetic Records) alongside multiple EPs, splits and singles. As well as this, Death Goals have extensively toured the UK and Europe, playing festivals inc. Roadburn and Arctangent & touring/supporting the likes of Stormo, Blind Girls, HIRS Collective and more.
Writing Survival.. across the span of 2024 the band worked with a simple set-up (one guitar, one interface and a cracked version of Logic..) from Milner’s home office, with weekly writing sessions allowing them to create a truly authentic response to the world and the persecution of the queer community. Recorded by Tom Hill at The Bookhouse Studio in London (who also recorded the band’s two full-length albums (The Horrible And The Miserable & A Garden Of Dead Flowers) the band delved into the project newly independent and eager to experiment. From this, birthed the idea of featuring an array of their queer friends to feature across the EP; choosing to incorporate their unique vocal styles into the writing & performance to create something unique within each track.
‘Survival Is An Act Of Defiance’ is Death Goals’ most politically-charged and aggressive release to date; joined by a host of queer guest vocalists (members of HIRS Collective, Burner, Cainhurst and Victim Unit) the band wrote this EP across 2024 as a real-time response to the ever-growing hatred and persecution of the queer community.
“‘Survival Is An Act Of Defiance’ came from a collection of demos that we’d originally deemed too ‘gnarly’ for Death Goals, but found really encapsulated how we’ve felt watching the world fall apart around us over the past few years. Across weekly writing sessions at George’s house throughout 2024 we chopped, changed and refined these tracks – more so than we’ve ever done on a previous Death Goals release.
I had heard the phrase ‘Even a worm can turn’, and it really resonated with me as a queer individual; we are not, and do not wish to be the violent & malicious group that the far right portray us as, however due to ever increasing hostility we are having to become more confrontational in our acts of self preservation.
Queerness, community and the overcoming of adversity are the major lyrical themes of Survival Is An Act Of Defiance. Whilst we’ve never refrained from including these in prior releases, it was integral that they were at the foreground of these songs, we wanted to offer not just an expression of despair but one of hope and togetherness in a time where that seems unthinkable.
The Queercore community has always been a family to us, and as we wrote this EP we knew we wanted to embrace that fact. We are so grateful to our friends from Burner, Cainhurst, Victim Unit and HIRS Collective for lending their incredible voices to these songs, it makes the whole release feel extra special to us.” – Harry Bailey
Death Goals will kick off proceedings for this new chapter on the 22nd of July, with the release of the first single ‘Tchotchke’. Featuring the vocals of Jenna Pup of HIRS Collective, ‘Tchotchke’ is about the frustrations of being queer and viewed as a commodity, rather than a human being.
“Tchotchke is about the queer experience of being fetishised by members of the heterosexual community; the casual ‘harmless’ flirtation of a drunk straight friend, or the anonymous message on social media recounting all the sordid ways they’ve thought about you that evening. Queer people don’t exist to be objects of lust; we deserve love just as much as anybody else.” – Death Goals
EP Tracklist:
- Kill With Kindness (Ft. Harry Nott of Burner)
- Tchotchke (Ft. Jenna Pup of HIRS Collective)
- Even An Empire Can Burn… (Ft. Ewan Benwell of Cainhurst)
- Even A Worm Can Turn
- Survival Is An Act Of Defiance (Ft. Lotta Ridgely of Victim Unit)
Upcoming shows |
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With HIRS Collective 30/08 – Supersonic Festival, Birmingham 31/08 – Joiners, Southampton 03/09 – V11, Rotterdam 04/09 – DBs, Utrecht 05/09 – Green Door Store, Brighton 06/09 – The Black Heart, London 07/09 – The Exchange, Bristol 08/09 – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff 09/09 – The Star & Garter, Manchester 10/09 – The Adelphi Club, Hull 11/09 – Lubber Fiend, Newcastle 12/09 – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds 14/09 – Core Festival, Glasgow
Festival/Support 17/09 – Avant Art Festival, Warsaw 05/10 – Tumult Festival, Brussels 08/11 – Fickle Pickle, Southend (with City Of Caterpillar)
With Conjurer 11/11 – Joiners, Southampton 12/11 – The Underworld, London 13/11 – Strange Brew, Bristol 15/11 – Asylum, Birmingham 16/11 – Cathouse, Glasgow 
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