Draft:Girls In Synthesis

• Comment: Of the sources: The Backseat Mafia and Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie interviews are not independent of the band, nor are any articles from Louder Than War since they're signed to its record label. Joyride is a very small webzine, and I am unconvinced of its reliability. Neither of the Narc Magazine reviews are particularly in depth. Backseat Mafia doesn't even have a live about page and also seems unreliable. The Under the Radar source is actually very good, and adding one more source like that will prove notability. Mach61 17:06, 26 March 2024 (UTC)

---

Girls In Synthesis are a London-based post-punk trio who have been musically active since late 2016 and was formed by bassist/vocalist John Linger, guitarist/singer Jim Cubitt and drummer Nicole Pinto. They have released a steady stream of music since 2017 on various labels including Blank Editions, Louder Than War, Harbinger Sound, Hound Gawd! and their current home, Cargo Records.

The band have released numerous EP,s mini-albums and singles and two critically acclaimed full-length albums, 'Now Here's An Echo From Your Future' (2020) and 'The Rest Is Distraction' (2022).

Formation

The core of the group was formed in 2015 by Linger and Cubitt, who wished to play a more visceral and immediate style of music that the music they were then playing with French-born singer/songwriter Syd Kemp, with influences including post-punk bands such as Swell Maps, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Flipper. Drummer Pinto was recruited via Gumtree in mid 2016, and the band began rehearsing and writing soon after.

2016-2019: Early releases, live shows and collaborations

During late 2016 the band played a handful of dates across London, including a support slot with US act Cherry Glazzer and for various, long running promoters such as Artrocker, Bad Vibrations and DIY Thursdays. The groups first single release, 'The Mound'/'Disappear' was released via their own label, Own It, on 17th March 2017. The two-track single was originally a digitally only release, but was released on 7" vinyl in 2020.

The single put the band on the radar of various other London-based acts and promoters, with their intense and chaotic live shows winning them support slots with Thee MVPs, Yassassin, Telegram and Bad Breeding. Around the time of their winter support slot with Yassassin, Linger and Cubitt took to playing whole shows from within the crowd, moving their microphone stands into the audience. 2017 also saw the band collaborate with London-based record label Blank Editions, seeing the release of their first vinyl release, the 'Suburban Hell E.P' [20/11/17]. The record was a short run, and sold out soon after pre-orders were released.

In 2018, additional support slots we're offered to the band with acts including Lady Bird, Desperate Journalist, Slaves, Warduscher, Phobophobes and Damo Suzuki, culminating with a show supporting Wolf Alice at Brixton Academy. A further two Blank Editions collaborations came in the shape of vinyl EPs 'We Might Not Make Tomorrow' [29/5/18] and 'Fan The Flames' [9/11/18].

In April 2019, Louder Than War Records compiled the now-collectable three Blank Editions EPs and debut digital single, as 'Pre/Post: A Collection 2016-2018'. This LP became the fastest selling release in the labels catalogue. The release was supported by UK touring throughout April, and the band played shows with London-based duo JOHN and at Rebellion Festival later in the year. October 2019 saw the group release the three-track 'Arterial Movements' EP via German-based labels Inacar and X-Mist. The band also began recording material for their upcoming debut album towards the end of 2019.

2020: Debut album 'Now Here's An Echo From Your Future'

During the latter months of 2019, the band began a working relationship with then-Sleaford Mods manager, Steve Underwood, on their forthcoming debut album, 'Now Here's An Echo From Your Future'. The release was halted due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and was eventually released on 28th August 2020. via Underwood's Harbinger Sound label.

Expanding on their aggressive, post-punk influenced sound evident on lead single 'The Images Agree', the band added horns and violin to tracks such as 'Set Up To Fail'. The album was critically well received, with Joyzine stating "This release is compelling and strong enough to not only become one of the must have albums of 2020 but for years to come" It also garnered praise from publications such as Louder Than War ("A truly vital release..."), Narc Magazine ("An essential highly anticipated debut album for our fractious times...") and Under The Radar ("This isn’t River Island Rebellion. These songs are the real deal").

Although not able to tour the album due to the pandemic, the band did produce a free four-part live stream podcast for fans in which the songs were discussed and rare demo material was played.

2021-2022: Mini-albums 'Shift In State', 'Konsumrausch', and second album 'The Rest Is Distraction'

While fitting in a handful of shows in 2021, included their first shows outside the UK at Sonic City in Kortrijk, Belgium and at dB's in Utrecht, most of the group's live plans were scuppered due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic. The mini-album 'Shift In State' was released in June 2021 for Record Store Day.

In June 2022, the band released the 'Konsumrausch' mini-album with German-based label, Hound Gawd! This released featured five songs, including digital singles 'Pulling Teeth' and 'Enveloped'. These two songs introduced an electronic edge to the band's sound.

The group's second album, 'The Rest Is Distraction', was released on 14th October 2022, this time via their own label, Own It, and was distributed worldwide by Cargo Distribution. This time, the album was extensively toured across the UK, including a sell-out headline show at The Lexington in Islington. The band also undertook their first EU tour in November '24, which took in Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. The album also saw a limited edition release for Dinked Edition, which featured a full colour sleeve plus a flexidisc including the unreleased song 'We Tried So Hard'.

The album itself was, once again, critically acclaimed. Backseat Mafia exclaimed "... as close to perfection in recorded format as you’re likely to get", whilst Narc Magazine awarded the album 4/5 and said "A belting second album from one of the foremost ultrasonic post-punk bands operating at the moment"

2023-present: Further EU touring, mini-album 'Die Leere' and announcement of third album

The band continued to promote 'The Rest Is Distraction' throughout early 2023, with further EU tour dates in February and a sell out London show at The Lower Third in Soho in May. In August, they played their first show in Portugal at Extramuralhaus 2023 in Leiria.

After keeping a low profile through most of 2023 to record material for their third album, the band released 12" EP 'Die Leere' on 13th October 2023, another collaboration with Hound Gawd! Records. The EP included previous digital single 'I Know No Other Way' and three new songs.

In December 2023, the group announced forthcoming UK and EU tour dates to promote third album release, due in May 2024.