‘…something dark and twisted is occurring just out of your sight-line, the dull thud of bass and warped vocals emerging from some hellish nightclub…’
Merseyside queer art collective Dead Animals have been haunting the north west for quite some time now. Shifting form under the leadership of creative mastermind Ruby Roadkill, the project has so far released two singles since 2024, and have performed on a multitude of eclectic lineups, including a headline performance at local adult store Scandals. That title emerges again for the outfit’s upcoming debut mixtape, ‘SCANDALS’, from which we receive the brand new single, ‘Sinister’.
There is an unsettling element of obscurity about this new sonic fever dream that Dead Animals have unleashed. The manner in which the track has been produced and mastered gives the illusion that something dark and twisted is occurring just out of your sight-line, the dull thud of bass and warped vocals emerging from some hellish nightclub at the bottom of an endless well. It is intensely hypnotic, shifting and contorting into patterns that give some sense of familiarity in the midst of frenzy, whilst never settling into something that one could describe as “comfortable”.
Roadkill herself snakes between the claustrophobic layers of fuzz with an unrepentant sneer to her vocals, oozing with all of the drama of Liza Minelli as she commands unseen crowds with scandalous intimacy. ‘Pain breaks the rhythm but it doesn’t break me‘ is repeated over and over in the midst of rising fervour, giving something for the psyche to latch on to, and perhaps even retain.
Seeing Dead Animals go from strength to strength whilst decrying any sense of appealing to the mainstream in the process is a true delight to behold. ‘Sinister‘ feels like the realisation of a long-held vision, a work of art Roadkill has been sculpting for many, many years with only perfection being the suitable outcome. Not even God knows what ‘SCANDALS‘ has in store, and that is exactly how Roadkill wants it.
For Fans Of: Nine Inch Nails, Synapscape, Lustmord, Hatari, God Is My Co-Pilot
Featured photo credit belongs to @krimsonkaptures.
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