Hemlock for Socrates' dark angry disco and tour

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s moody, danceable electronic art-rock duo Hemlock for Socrates have released their “dark and angry, lush disco” single and video, ‘You’re Not Here’, heralding a string of tourdates alongside Chicago’s [melter] for July-August 2024. Premiering ‘You’re Not Here’ on Monday, 1 July 2024, Heather Shore (guitar, vocals, programming) and Kegan Heiss (bass, vocals, programming) spoke to Post-punk.com about the new single and its video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tehUbkg_kek&feature=youtu.be

Heather: ‘You’re Not Here’ was written after a breakup. It’s about trying to connect with someone, but they won’t or can’t open up. It’s bitter - they didn’t care enough about me to share their feelings. But it’s also still pleading - let me in to you. There’s also a hint of the fear that after desperately trying to get through the brick wall of someone’s apathy, maybe there’s no one actually behind the wall.

Kegan: I feel there’s a current of optimism in the music despite its minor key and burnt-out synth soundscape. Heather’s vocal delivery reveals the longing behind the reprimand in her text, and we worked to tie that feeling into the constant driving rhythm section to pull the listener through all the anguish and frustration. The guitar solo over the syncopated breakdown is a cacophony of emotional release.

Heather: It’s basically a dark and angry, lush disco track. The lyrics and vocal melody were written first and the song kind of fell together after that. The video is an extension of the central metaphor - searching the dark house for someone, but they’re just not there.

Hemlock for Socrates’ is the moody, danceable electronic art-rock partnership of Heather Shore and Kegan Heiss. Together they create music that sounds like the molten alloy from a furnace of disparate genres: doom-disco, electro-cabaret, industrial blues, math-wave. At times the sound is experimental and esoteric; at times it’s dramatic and deeply personal. Their 2022 album Cavern explores the despair of the powerless individual in a society of billions, and the savage desire to experience the pleasures of life and love, no matter how ephemeral they are.

Hemlock for Socrates [melter] Summer Tour 2024

26 July – Louisville, KY – Art Sanctuary - Event Page

• 27 July – Columbus, OH – The Spacebar - Event Page

• 31 July – Ypsilanti, MI – Ziggy’s - Event Page

• 1 August – Madison, WI – Crucible - Event Page

• 2 August – Grand Rapids, MI – Mulligan’s - Event Page

  3 August – Fort Wayne, IN – The Ruin - Event Page

• 8 August – Cincinnati, OH – The Comet - Event Page

• 9 August – Alton, IL – The Conservatory - Event Page

• 10 August – Chicago, IL – Bourbon on Division - Event Page

• 11 August – Pittsburgh, PA – The Government Center - Event Page