Ithaca - Hassle Records

Availability: Netherlands

 

About Ithaca

Acclaimed UK metallic hardcore troupe Ithaca return with their stunning, long-awaited second album, They Fear Us, due 29th July via Hassle Records. 
 
Ithaca are one of the most exciting and vital voices in the UK heavy scene currently. Formed out of a mutual love of metallic hardcore but despair at its lack of ambition, Ithaca exist to challenge everything you thought a band that makes heavy music should look and sound like.
 
A glitter-covered nailbomb, Ithaca seamlessly blend the brutality of Relapse Records metalcore with blackgaze, 90s industrial metal, 70s prog and even tinges of 80s power pop. Their influences stretch beyond the musical - this album comes with a clear vision and aesthetic: drawing from members’ different ancestral heritage, queer/non-conforming identities and iconic figures in avant-garde, new wave and post-punk culture.
 
Their upcoming second album They Fear Us is the sound of a band healing from trauma - standing in their own, unapologetic voice. Furious and wildly inventive while also being more coherent and accessible, this album will introduce Ithaca to a wider audience than they’ve ever had before. In the words of the band: ‘those who oppose us; your sins will catch up to you. You will fear us’.
 
Ithaca's 2019 lauded debut The Language of Injury was followed by their early 2020 tour with Grammy-nominated indie-rock band Big Thief, starting at London’s Hammersmith Apollo. 
 
Press support from Pitchfork, BBC R1, Metal Hammer, Kerrang!, Rock Sound, Revolver, Decibel, BrooklynVegan, and performances with Bleeding Through, Jamie Lenman, Anaal Nathrakh, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, at Boomtown Fair and ArcTanGent Festival position Ithaca as a great hope in the future of new UK music. Ithaca have also appeared on Ed Gamble’s Spotify podcast ‘Lifers’, Sky News and BBC3.
 
The band released their first single from the record to worldwide praise – the scorching title-track ‘They Fear Us’. Soaring, triumphant choruses, a fearsome breakdown and the most vicious mosh call heard this year already mark 2022 as Ithaca’s most powerful year yet, with their best music yet heard. The Guardian noted 'They Fear Us' was 'exhilarating', and further praise came from Metal Hammer, Kerrang!, and Rock Sound.
 
In the words of Ithaca: "We’re proud to present ‘They Fear Us’, the debut single from our second album. 
 
 "It reflects one of the big themes of the album - discovering and harnessing inner power, strength, revenge and retribution; challenging masculine power structures both in a general but also deeply personal sense. It’s a deific statement of intent - they may have hurt us before but now they fear us and you should too. In short, The Language of Injury was the ‘fuck about’, They Fear Us is the ‘find out’.
 
 "These ideas are reflected in the lyrics but also in the musical choices. The vocal sample is a field recording Sam made while he was in India grieving his mother’s death, of a priest leading a Ganga Aarti ceremony next to the Ganges - this ceremony invites Mother Ganga in and asks for her blessing, reflecting the power of the divine feminine. The drum break is pitched up to create a similar sound to a dhol. 
 
 "We’re so happy to share music that we feel reflects who we truly are as a band, standing unapologetically as us."