Above: Photo via GLOSSbandcamp.com
By Arts Editor Brendan Barlow
“F*ck the Peace keeping f*ck the calm
The investigation is a f*cking con
The investigation is a f*cking conThe truth is known beneath the gun
Black lives don’t matter in the eyes of the law”
This is the chorus that screams out from the first track of G.L.O.S.S.’ (Girls Living Outside Society’s Sh*t) most recent EP Trans Day of Revenge. The EP was released in June, the day after 49 people were killed and 53 injured, during the terrorist attack at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando; and it is filled with all of the anger, frustration, and emotion that you might expect in response to an event like that, and in response to any of the countless senseless deaths that have happened even since.
G.L.O.S.S. hails from Olympia, Washington, and was formed by close friends Sadie and Jake. According to an article in Bitch magazine, “Jake and Sadie each grew up going to hardcore shows. Like many punk scenes, white suburban males made up most of the audience at these shows, but Sadie, then a closeted trans teen, was drawn to the music nonetheless”.
The band released a demo in 2015 that showed how much frustration and
Photo via genuis.com
confusion was felt on the part of the band members, feelings that could be shared by any who listen to their music, or even just make attempts at comprehending the magnitude and brutality of things like the Orlando shooting. Both the demo and Revenge have the air of old-school, hardcore punk music, with all of the angst and genuine anger that comes with it. This is amplified by the fact that Sadie and another band member are both trans women, living in the United States, and everything that comes along with that.
This perspective in punk music is something rare, a genre dominated by white men and one that hasn’t always been known for its acceptance and understanding. It’s these thing that set G.L.O.S.S. apart and almost make them punk in the truest form of the word. Not since punk’s heyday battling politics and an unfair system has a punk band come around with such a current and relevant message as this.
The album itself is spectacular, clocking in at a blistering seven minutes long (no, really), and packing a bigger gut punch than any other album I’ve listened to this year. The songs are short, raw, and full of everything that the band, and their audience, feel. It’s impossible to listen to it and not understand exactly what feelings are behind each song. Perhaps Vice partner site Noisey said it best when they wrote “[Revenge] brims with a blistering rage directed to all transphobes, homophobes and bigots.”
The album also expresses frustration with the passivity that many seem so comfortable in. Almost a direct call to action for the armchair commentators, and slacktivists that their way isn’t working, and now it’s time to “give violence a chance”.
If you’re someone who laments the “death” of punk, then you need to pick this album up as soon as possible. You’ll see that punk is alive and well, and its name is G.L.O.S.S. Trans Day of Revenge is available on the band’s Bandcamp page, at any price you can offer.
